Best Friends Forever?
by ThomThom
Summary: Buffy and Faith are doing their best to be there for their best friends, when they find themselves in an odd situation. Exploration of the line between best friend and something more. W/B K/F best friends, but for B and F things change. UPDATED 8/17
1. Chapter 1

So, I'm not doing much writing lately, but, uh, this idea is bugging the shit out of me, so it's either let this get in the way of me actually updating my other stuff, or just get it out of my system, and add it to the stack--Obviously, I've chosen the stack….not sure if it's a one chapter thing, or a story thing, 'cause I'm sort of just sitting down and writing it without any real planning, which is very rare for me of late. Anyways, let me know what you guys think. Thanks for reading--*ThomThom*

Chapter One: Best Friends…Forever?

Buffy looked at herself in the mirror, pulling at her blue green blouse slightly, thinking that maybe she wasn't as good with the iron as she had thought. Her jeans looked one hundred percent straight, but her shirt just wasn't getting on the straight train….thinking that exactly, she laughed slightly, considering what her outing was about to entail, and then again when she thought about the fact that it had been Willow who had ironed her pants, after she had watched Buffy fail at her own attempt. However, after the redhead displayed the correct way to iron, the iron was given to Buffy for the top half of her outfit, which had gone…well, obviously, it had not gone as well as she hoped. Deciding that there was no way she was going to go back to the ironing board, pretty much for the rest of her life, she simply sighed, knowing that that was the best she was going to get from the tugging solution, which had been no solution at all. So, after looking herself over one last time, she walked out of her bedroom, and after walking a bit down the hallway, and a few turns, she made her way down the stairs knowing that Willow was probably waiting for her.

And she had been right, seeing Buffy head down the stairs, Willow stood up from the couch, "Funny how it took you longer to get ready," she said, her breathing slightly off, do to her nervousness, "Now, I'm all, nope, don't wanna go. How about we stay home and eat lots of kettle corn and watch something funny--Something that won't make me pee my pants like going out to--"

"No, no staying home," Buffy said, with a slight scowl. She walked over to her best friend, stopping in front of her, still with the same expression, "Now I know you're a bundle of nerves here, but popcorn land called, and they're running low on the kettle corn, so too bad, 'cause you're not one to eat tons of the salty variety," after Willow nodded, and groaned in a whiny child like, Buffy looked her friend over, "You look nice," she smiled.

Willow looked down at herself, taking in the sight of her the tight black blouse, cutting a little low, and then at her dark jeans, "Really?" she frowned, "I think I wore this the other day…." she sighed, "Buffy, I really don't want to do this--It's too soon, I-I can't."

The slayer shook her head, "Six months is not too soon--Not for you to just go out and have a good time. We're not going so you can meet anyone, Will, we're going to you can get out of the house, and enjoy yourself."

"A nice walk through the park could do the trick, tomorrow maybe?" she suggest with a obviously forced smile, and her brows risen, "There's the trees and the squirrels, and grass--I like grass."

Frowning, Buffy laughed, "Okay, and that's great, but I'm not thinking that going to the park is really and outing--You need music, lots of people," her friends face showed dread just at the thought of any sort of club, or bar, and Buffy truly understood why it sounded so terrifying, but there was no way she was going to let Willow spend yet another day in the house, "Oh, oh, and there's alcohol," she added, "Not that you're a drunk, but you do enjoy a good martini or two from what I remember."

"True," the redhead shrugged, "But, martini's can be made at home--We can do that here, so let's just stay here, and--" before she knew it, Buffy was pulling her towards the door, despite her continuing to say that she didn't want to leave--That she wasn't ready, which she truly felt, "Please," she said, almost in a completely desperate tone, but she had been getting out of leaving the house for the last six months, and it seemed that her best friend was no longer willing to listen to her whining, and pleading. However, Willow could not stop herself from trying to get out of their plans. When Buffy opened the front door, still pulling her along, Willow grabbed the door frame with one of her hands, "No, I don't wanna--Please?"

"Will, I cannot believe you are acting like this--I swear you've reverted, and landed back in toddlerville," she sighed, "I get that you're still in the whole healing heart area, but you've got to at least start to try to move forward. Even just a little bit will help….a few martinis, a few good laughs, maybe some scanning of the room--Simply for judging purposes," she added, quickly, "then we can come back here and I'll reveal where I've been hiding the kettle corn."

"Oh, I knew it," Willow exclaimed. After a moment, she let go of the door frame, and then closed the door, "Fine, let's just--Let's just get this done and over with, then."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Kennedy walked out of her room quickly, and headed over to Faith's, not bothering to knock at all before entering the other slayer's room, "Faith, what the hell are you doing in here? We're not going to the fucking royal palace, so hurry the fuck up," she walked up behind the other brunette, who was pulling on a red tank in front of the mirror, "What the hell is taking so long, when all you're wearing is your usual attire?" she asked.

"Why are you in such a rush?" the older of them asked, "It's not like the place isn't gonna be there when we get there, so just chill, all right? Christ--Just 'cause you're ready to get yourself back on the market--"

"No, this is not just a simple back on the market kind of thing. This is a 'finally' getting back on the market type of thing, after a hell of a long relationship ended, so yeah, it's a bit of celebration in my head, and I'm ready to do the actual celebrating. Do you know how long it's been, since--"

"Yeah, 'cause you've been bitchy ever since," Faith interrupted, "Lucky for you, I can cut you some slack seeing the circumstances," after grabbing her jean jacket off of her bed, she looked over at her best friend, though using that term was always going to be weird for her, "You sure you're ready for this? I mean what you and Red had was--"

"Well, that's over and done with," Kennedy shrugged, "And I'm ready to move on. No point in sitting around moping, and whining all the time. I'm thinking I took a long enough time to let myself get it back together, and now that I'm a whole puzzle again, instead of it's five hundred pieces, I want to go out and have some fun. If you'd rather sit around thinking about my ex, go ahead, but it makes you look a little weird, just to let you know."

After a moment of just silent staring, daring look in both of their eyes, Faith tilted her head to the side, a grin spreading across her face, "I've never been one to say no to a good time."

Kennedy laughed, "That's 'cause you're a slut. Let's go," she left the room, knowing that Faith would be following behind her, and headed towards the door. Spotting Dawn lying down, seeing that the young woman's door was open, Kennedy poked her head in, looking around at the various books everywhere with a frown, "You sure you don't want to come? Sure it'll only be a bunch of chicks, but you never know, you might find one that you will wanna have a good time with," she grinned, "The books will be here when you get back."

Dawn moved the book she had been looking at over, and rose from her bed, walking over with a straight face. She put her hand on her door, "Some of us have tests that won't involve breathing in a tube that determines whether we'll be spending the night at home or behind bars," she looked at the both of them for a moment, "Don't be all loud when you get back," with that, she closed the door on the both of them.

"We've got to take her out after her exams, she's a little wound, don't you think?" Kennedy asked, as her and Faith continued towards the door, "Oh well, just means that I won't have to worry about anyone that's from Sunnydale scolding me for moving forward instead of lingering on the past. That is, unless you plan to keep being a pain in my ass."

"Nope, I'm done with the friend routine. Once we walk into that club your emotions are your business. I'll be beating to my own drum, scouting, possibly getting lucky, depending on how well things look when I get there. You just make sure that you don't go all, never mind I'm not ready, once we get there," she paused, "But if you do--"

"Shut, it--"

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Buffy and Willow sat at the bar of the club, watching as their second drinks of the night were being mixed. There hadn't been many words to come from the redhead, but Buffy sensed that her nerves had calmed slightly, and even though it was probably because of the alcohol, she was glad to see that. Ever since Willow and Kennedy had broken up, the redhead hadn't really done much other than sit around the house, or sitting alone in her room for hours at a time, making everyone worry even more. It had been a complicated break up, and Buffy knew that, though she hadn't really gotten Willow to fully go into detail of the sudden end of a relationship she thought had been going well, but she knew that moping around wasn't going to do her best friend any good. She knew that that would only push Willow further and further into her thoughts, and those surely weren't happy ones at the moment.

"Look at us, all out and about together," the slayer finally said, "This isn't so bad, is it? Sure, it's a little crowded, but things are going well, so far. There's music, more of the cheery variety, if you count the slight raunchy innuendo of it cheery 'cause it certainly isn't all sad, and…." she shook her head, "We have great music, and we're both on our second drink--"

"So we can leave?" Willow asked, looking to her friend, who had an expression that definitely said 'no' to her disappointment, "Oh, come on Buffy, this just isn't--It isn't making me feel any better. I'm more of stay at home type, and though that no longer includes any sort of cuddling, or…anything of the physical variety, I'd rather be there, then getting physical by means of accidentally rubbing up against people, and having them think that I want to dance with them, which was horrifying by the way."

Trying to keep herself from laughing, thinking of the expression that had been on Willow's face when they had first arrived, and the redhead had gotten herself into that situation, along with the babbling that had followed, when she explained to the woman that she hadn't meant it in a 'I want to dance' sort of way--Buffy put her hand over her mouth, and averted her eyes. When the bartender poured their drinks into their glasses, she finally looked back to her friend, "Well, at least we know that you're still the accidental attractive type," she shrugged, before taking a small swallow of her drink, but as soon as she did, she nearly spat it out, spotting a familiar face during the one second that a couple seemed to separate from each other. She looked to Willow, who luckily was not looking at, because her wide eyed expression would have easily given off the fact that something was wrong. Clearing hear throat, she stood up, "I'm gonna try to get to the bathroom," she started to walk away after Willow said okay, but turned back quickly, "Don't drink it," she said, knowing full well that the other woman wasn't exactly good at holding her liquor.

Grunting as she made her way through the crowd, being bumped into repeatedly, Buffy tried to walk as fast as she could, hoping that she had not seen who she had thought she'd seen, or that if she had that they hadn't roamed to another part of the club, therefore becoming impossible to find. Lucky for her, she spotted who she was looking for, knowing them even from behind, "Faith," she yelled.

Not really fully thinking, due to the fact that she was busy dancing with someone, Faith simply looked over her shoulder to see who was calling her, "Oh hey, B," she said, before turning her attention back to the body moving against hers, but after realizing who she had just said 'hey' to, she turned around quickly, her eyes wide, just as Buffy's had been when she had spotted her, "B, what the hell are you doing here? Last time I checked, you were not living on this side of the tracks," she paused for a moment, "Unless--"

"Faith, seriously," she pulled the slayer off to the side, saying excuse us to whoever it was that Faith had been dancing with. Once they weren't surrounded on all sides, Buffy stopped walking, and turned to face Faith, "Please tell me that you're here alone?"

She grinned, "Define alone--" seeing that Buffy hadn't really been seeming to respond to what she was saying, Faith frowned, "Wait, why are you here, again?" she asked, definitely more seriously than she had asked before. But, she didn't need to wait for an answer, 'cause it hit her dead in the face when she happened to glance over and see Willow at the bar, "Oh shit…"

"Oh shit is right," Buffy nodded, "That is if I'm right in assuming that you know who is here too," Faith gave her a look, which she first didn't get, "What? Oh, we're not aloud to say her name at the house--Kennedy, is she here?"

"Yeah, she is, so you've got to go. Now," she looked around her, trying to spot Kennedy as fast as she could, but she had yet to find her in the crowd, which made her panic internally, "before Kennedy sees her, and decides that she's not ready to move on after all."

Buffy crossed her arms, "Move on?" she questioned, "She's moving on, already?"

"According to her, she's ready to put herself out there again--" she finally spotted, Kennedy, who was very much occupied with putting her tongue down someone's throat, to her surprise, but it relieved her to see that that meant she had some time to get Buffy and Willow out of sight, "I guess Willow's ready too, considering that she's here."

There was something in Faith's tone that didn't settle well with her. A sort of aggressive accusing that for her didn't raise questions so much as anger within herself, "What's that supposed to mean?" it wasn't really a question, as Faith found out when Buffy started to speak again, "For your information, Willow's a mess. She doesn't even want to be here right now, but obviously I was right to think that it'd be better for her to try to get over Kennedy sooner seeing that she's over there groping someone she probably just met."

"Some people deal with things a little differently," Faith said, with same hostility that the blonde was fuming, "This is her dealing with things. That stick up your ass just prevents you from understanding. Look, why don't you just take Red and run along before--"

"Why do we have to be the ones to leave?"

Faith laughed sarcastically, "Well obviously you're not the ones having any fun, so you should be the ones to leave. This isn't exactly your scene anyways, B."

"Yeah, well I doubt that Kennedy will be here that much longer, anyways. Pretty sure that she'll have to take her fun elsewhere considering the fact that you can only do so much in such a--" when she went to try to look back over at Kennedy, she stopped immediately, seeing that though the woman that Kennedy had been all over was still there, Kennedy herself was no where to be seen "Where'd she go?"

"What?" Faith turned immediately, "What the fuck?" she started to look around frantically, "Come on Kennedy, where are you?" she asked, in a whisper, as she squinted slightly.

Buffy gasped, "Oh God--"

Hearing the blonde, Faith looked over at her, and then followed her line of sight to the bar, where she saw Kennedy slowly approaching Willow, "How the hell could she have gone from making out one minute to--" she saw Kennedy's mouth move, and Willow turn to look behind her slowly, as Kennedy continued to move until she was beside to the redhead, where she then sat down, in the seat which Buffy had once occupied. Faith watched the two of them closely, wondering if she was about to see the water works begin all over again, but there was no crying, or even looks of being upset. They definitely weren't completely comfortable, either, but from how it looked from afar, they seemed to be talking calmly, which made Faith wonder what was being said. She turned to Buffy, "What do you think they're saying?"

"I don't know," she answered truthfully. Really, she hadn't thought that Willow and Kennedy would have to see each other for a while, seeing that things in the land of the possible apocalypses seemed to be pretty dull, so there wasn't any need of any frequent meet ups of all the most experienced people involved. Seeing that she had been the one to force Willow to leave, despite the fact that the witch hadn't wanted to leave at all, the blonde couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Now, whether she was ready or not, she was going to not only see Kennedy, but even hold a conversation with her.

"Do you think we should be all, best friend like, and interrupt?" Faith asked.

Buffy frowned, "What is your definition of a best friend?" she asked, "We can't interrupt, it's happening now, and we're just gonna have to stand back and wait to see what happens. If something happens, for example some yelling, or lots of hard crying, then we interrupt, and we defend immediately. You defend Kennedy, of course, 'cause I'm on team Willow."

"Damn right I'll be defending Kennedy. Sure as hell won't be on 'team Willow'," she said, going back to her more aggressive tone.

"Of course you wouldn't, you stick to what you know--And considering just how much you and Kennedy are alike, it figures that you'd be on her side when clearly, she's the one in the wrong here. Willow is the one--"

"What the fuck? You're acting like it's Kennedy that did something wrong. What, just 'cause Willow's everyone's sweetheart, innocent to the core, it had to be Kennedy that screwed everything up? How do you know that it wasn't Willow who broke it all off? Or that it wasn't Willow who was the problem in the first place?"

"Because she's Willow," she said, even louder--If it weren't for the music feeling the club, there was no doubt that everyone would have heard them, and the people remotely near them seemed to already, but neither of them cared--Neither of them noticed, "Willow's the sweet one. Willow's the one that hates to hurt anyone….sure, there was that thing in high school, and sure the thing with Warren….but she doesn't break hearts. She's the type that's there no matter what; that always seems to be there just when you need her; that does anything and everything to make someone smile. She wouldn't just--Kennedy is the one with the long history of breaking hearts, and the one that just had her hands all over some random scank, while Willow's obviously still distraught."

"Probably out of guilt," Faith blurted, "Everyone acts like she's some saint--"

"Pretty sure you were part of that everyone, before you became the best of friend with Kennedy," Buffy pointed out.

"Yeah, well if she's so great, why don't you date her--I mean, you're here, so you can't have too much of an issue with the thought of some girl girl lovin'. You think Red is so wonderfully fantastic," she said, sarcastically, "do me a favor and take her home, where you continue to do all your worshiping, so Kennedy can move forward like she had planned to do when she came out here."

Buffy rolled her eyes, "That's the craziest thing I've heard--Maybe even the craziest thing you've ever said."

"Which part?" Faith asked, flatly.

Before Buffy could say anything, suddenly, Kennedy had walked up to them, "Hey, Faith, let's get out of here."

If they had not seen Willow and Kennedy talking, both the older slayer's would have sworn that everything was just fine and dandy, hearing Kennedy's tone of voice. She didn't sound upset, or sad, in anyway, which Buffy thought just further proved her point, but she said nothing.

Faith on the other hand wasn't even thinking about what her and Buffy had said to each other, at all, "Everything okay?"

"Yep," she looked over at Buffy, "Hey, she's ready to leave, too--Not really her way of…" she trailed off, not exactly wanting to say what she meant, but also trying to make her point obvious, "She wants to go home--" she rolled her eyes at that last part, at saying 'home' and knowing that her home was no longer Willow's home, and Willow's home was no longer her home, "You ready, Faith?"

"Sure," she answered, simply. They started to walk away, but before they disappeared completely, she looked to Buffy, sending a nod in her direction, both fully understanding, which she knew for sure, when Buffy nodded in return.

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

Still in her room, buried in yet another book, Dawn couldn't help but look away from her book, looking at nothing in particular, as she heard the sound of a door closing. For a moment, she just laid there, wondering if one of the many residents of the house had simply needed to the restroom, or something, but when she heard the sounds of steps coming closer to her door, and then passing her door, she rose slowly. If it was who she thought it was, then something wasn't right--It was only a little past midnight, and considering the usual hours that it took for anyone she knew to return from a club, that was way too early. She opened her own door slowly, poking her head into the hallway as she did--It was who she hoped it hadn't been. She could hear Faith ask if Kennedy was alright, but not what Kennedy mumbled in response before going into her room, and closing the door, leaving Faith standing in the hallway, her eyes full of worry.

"Hey," Dawn said, quietly, getting her attention. She gestured for Faith to come to her room, and once she saw that the slayer was actually coming, she went back in her room, and started to move the books on her bed, onto her dresser, as neatly as she could. Once Faith was in the room, and she heard a quiet click, letting her know that her door was closed, she spoke, "What happened?"

Seeing that Dawn had cleared her some space, Faith sat at the end of bed, taking off her jacket as she did, "Buffy and Red were at the club," she said it quietly, not in a whisper exactly, but quiet enough that she knew that even if someone heard them talking, they wouldn't be able to understand what she was saying.

"Buffy and Willow?" she leaned against her dresser, "I'm guess that that didn't go so well."

Faith huffed, "I don't know if it went well or not--Not with Red and Kennedy, anyways. I was over talking to B, pretty much on the other side of the room, while they talked at the bar."

"Oh, good, so you gave them some space," she assumed.

"Uh, not exactly," she paused, "It was more of a, we were to wrapped up in arguing to notice that Kennedy was even heading in Red's direction, and by the time we did notice, it was pretty much too late to stop it from happening--Not that we would have wanted to stop it….maybe," Faith shook her head, "I don't know. I guess it was bound to happen, eventually."

"Yeah, it was," she sat down on the bed, "But, it's kind of not so good when it's completely not planned. And, I'm guessing that Kennedy wasn't exactly one for telling what exactly was said on the way home," Faith simply shook her head in response, "Well, Faith, you're her best friend, so she'll talk to you eventually."

"Yeah," she nodded, "Yeah, she will. I'm just a little, I don't know, thrown off by it all, I guess. She was sort of unnaturally call--Like, I had expected some kind of sign of her reacting to seeing Red; talking to Red, but she's just been…" she trailed off.

"You know Kennedy, never one to be all emotional, not at first, anyways," she looked the older woman over, feeling as if something wasn't being said, but she didn't really know how to ask, or what to ask about, so instead she opted for something else, "What were you and Buffy arguing about."

"Just you know, who's at fault, or whatever," she rolled her eyes, "As usually she's only thinking that Red's the definition of innocence instead of even considering that maybe, just maybe, she was the one that caused the whole thing."

Dawn frowned, "What whole thing?" she asked, "They broke up. People break up, and they get upset about it, and eat their emotions for a while. It's normal. Buffy, of all people, should get that--She should be the expert in all things having to do with bad break ups," she laughed, "Gosh, the two of you are just way too over protective. I get that it comes with being the best friend, but--We're supposed to be a family--That means no picking sides."

"But B is just being such a--" she stopped, seeing Dawn's brows raise, "Her damn thing with Red bein' a fuckin' saint, and Kennedy being the bad one pisses me off--I'm not mean to Red when I go over there. Hell, I even talk to her a bit, but Buffy's just--"

"Overprotective," Dawn finished, "She's very protective of the people she loves, and Willow is her best friend, so you have to expect her to be one hundred percent on Willow's side. That's just how she works. And, she knows that Willow needs her to be that way right now, especially. She needs that extra push, to help her deal, and we all know that Buffy's good at being pushy."

"There's just something about the way she was tonight. It just really rubbed me the wrong way, and I get the whole protectiveness, and whatnot, but it just…"

"It just--?" Dawn said, trying to nudge Faith to finish her sentence.

Faith shrugged, "It just seems like maybe there's more to it."

At first, Dawn just looked at her, not saying anything--A blank expression on her face, but then she started to laugh. First sort of a hesitant, nervous kind of laughing, and then an outright laugh, which she muffled slightly, with her hand. She managed to speak between laughing, "That's the….craziest…that's crazy--Buffy? More? Willow?" she took a deep breath, trying to stop herself from laughing, "That's just crazy."

"So I've been told, by B herself, actually," she thought for a moment, "She's the one making herself look all suspicious, with all her overreacting, and overprotective crap--"

Dawn's brows rose, "What's your excuse, then?" she asked.

"What? What do you mean, what's my--" before she could finish her sentence, she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket, "Who the hell is texting me, at--" she read the text, which was surprisingly from Giles, 'Didn't think he even knew what text messages were,' she thought to herself, laughing internally, but it stopped when she read the text.

"What's it say?" Dawn asked, seeing Faith literally tense up.

"It, uh, it says to meet him at the main house tomorrow," she answered, slowly.

Just then, Dawn's phone started to vibrate on her nightstand, prompting her to get. She looked at her phone, and frowned, "Same here--Guess that means all of us, then…."

Faith sighed, "That's just great."

BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR

"Buffy, it'll be fine," Willow assured her, as she sat on the couch, watching Buffy pace, "Really, it's not that big of a deal. We knew that we'd all have to come back together eventually. I think it'll be good--The group has kind of been split in two, since….This is good. Not, not that there's some sort of evil brewing, but that we're all coming back together."

"Are you sure you'll be okay? 'Cause if you're not sure, I can just fill you in later," she offered, as she stopped pacing.

"You do realize that the meeting is here, right? I'm not just gonna stay up in my room and hide. Pretty sure I've done enough of that lately. You were right," she breathed out heavily, "it's time for me to get back into the swing of things, and what better way to do it, then to go back into the routine of saving the world."

Seeing that she had been trying to get the redhead over the break up for some time, Buffy was thrown by how Willow so easily seemed to have changed her mind from not ready at all, to completely ready to the point of not even seeming to hesitate, or give it a second thought, "Did Kennedy say something--Did she tell you to move on?"

"No," she said, quickly, more quickly than she had intended, "No, she didn't tell me to--"

Buffy started to pace again, "She must have said something, 'cause now you're all gunho about the moving on idea. Gosh, if she was even slightly mean, I am gonna go over there right now and--"

"Whoa," her eyes went wide, "Buffy, she wasn't mean at all. She's not--She wouldn't….we're not mad at each other, though there should be some sort of….Look, I know, best friends are supposed to be all grr when this happens, but you can take it down a notch--or three. Kennedy and I are fine, not together fine, but we want to at least be able to be friends….we at least no that. And it never hurts to have another friends. Friends are good."

"So, what, you two don't see each other, or talk to each other for six months, and now you're gonna be friends?" her tone had no sort of aggression, or anger, or anything. It was really just a question, one more out of confusion than anything else, "You're not at all bothered by bumping into her tonight?"

"I wouldn't say that," she looked down, "It was…painful, but I know that there's no way I can just never see her again--Especially seeing our current job criteria--And even minus the job, I didn't want to not see her again, I just wasn't ready for it. God," she closed her eyes for a moment, "and she just had to be all…Kennedy like--"

The first thing that popped into Buffy's mind, in terms of what was Kennedy like, was a lot of attitude matched up with the ultimate stubbornness, but then she remembered all the times she had seen Willow and Kennedy together, and how eventually, Kennedy's hardness had softened. Willow had told her before that Kennedy had had that softness all along, and that it just took her a while to show it, but still--Somehow, however, especially since the 'great breakup' Buffy had a habit of forgetting all about 'softy' Kennedy. She sat down next to Willow, who hadn't said anything else, but was looking rather sad instead. That was her cue to just be comforting, "How about that movie, now?" she suggested, with a question.

"That sounds good," Willow sighed.

"I'll get the kettle corn," she smiled slightly, and then gave her friend's head a good squeeze, before rising from her spot. After going to where she had hid the kettle corn, she popped it in the microwave, making sure to hit the popcorn button, so she wouldn't end up destroying another perfectly good bag of kettle corn and have to deal with Willow's angry face--That thought made her smile, for a moment--but, she let it fade when the microwave started to beep, to let her know that it's mission was complete. She took out the bag, and then poured all of it into a large bowl that she took from the cabinets, before heading back into the living room, where Willow had already gotten the movie popped in, turned off the light, and was sitting on the couch, with a blanket in her lap, "I'm guessing it's yet another comedy?"

"Unless you're wanting me to cry, or cringe in disgust, or freak out in fear, comedy is the only choice we've got. Now," she reached her arms towards the bowl, "let's see if you burned it."

"I resent you for thinking that I'm incapable of popping popcorn," Willow gave her a look, "I pushed the right button this time, gosh," she sat down, and pulled her legs up on the couch, which Willow had already done, and after her best friend put part of the blanket over her legs, she sat the popcorn on one of her legs, and one of Willow's, so it was perfectly in both of their reach.

After a while of just watching, munching, and laughing, quietly of course, due to how late it was. With the bowl pretty much empty, and the both of them completely relaxed on the couch, Willow put her shoulder on best friends shoulder and laughed, "See, that's why I'm glad a best friend like you--" she said, reacting to what was happening in the movie they were watching, "More of the forever variety."

Buffy laughed awkwardly, for some reason, but she didn't bother to even wonder why, "Yeah…forever…"

-- TO BE CONTINUED? --

Okay, so it won't be a one chapter thing--If anyone's interested, let me know, and I'll at least add one more chapter. Is it pretty clear where I'm going with this? Well, like I said, let me know what you guys think, and whether you want me to go forward with it or not. Thanks for reading, hope there's some curiosity brewing. -*ThomThom*


	2. The New Arrangements

Hey guys! I'm glad that I've got some of you interested in the story, I'm looking forward to letting the story form itself into whatever it will turn out to be. Thanks to all of you that reviewed, and sighed up to be on the alert list, and everything. This chapter isn't completely revolving around the friendships, because I'm just setting up the conflict for all of them as a whole--Introducing the evil they're fighting, and all that, but I promise you the next chapter is one hundred percent revolving around the main part of the plot--The friendship exploration. I just had to do this sort of bridging, but I'm working on the next chapter already, so look for that to be up soon, it definitely won't be as long as this one, so it won't take me a long time to get it done. Thanks for reading, and let me know what you guys think. -*ThomThom*

P.S. sorry for any typos….

Chapter Two: The New Arrangements….

Both Kennedy and Faith got out of the car, taking a deep breath as they did, knowing that there was definitely some awkwardness ahead. It was time for the meeting; the gathering of all those who had been distant, or had not spoken at all, over the past six months. Any outside emotions, issues, or anything pertaining to something outside the realm of fighting evil had to be pushed aside before things, because the time to resolve things was not upon them. They had been called to work; to prepare for whatever evil was coming, or be given instruction on how to find something, or someone--What exactly they were up against was still a big mystery to everyone, seeing that Giles had yet to tell them, but that didn't matter. The point was that all things had to be pushed aside, because whatever was going on needed their full attention, and if anything from the outside was brought in….The task, however, of pushing everything aside, was not so easy.

"You good?" Faith asked, as they made their way closer and closer to the door. She looked up at, what they called a mini mansion of sorts, noting that almost every window had a lit room behind it. It was just going to be the core group. The ones that had been doing it for a while; who would actually be capable of following through on a certain task, no matter who dangerous the case--Well, no that wasn't true. Dawn, though capable, wasn't as capable as the older core members, and neither was Andrew, that's for sure, but they were still there no matter what, "You think Xand will show?"

"Maybe," she put her hands in her jean pockets, and sighed, "I've been told that he's been coming around a bit more, lately, but he's still not one hundred percent back in the game. Plus, I think he lives too far to always come and see what's up. He just calls mostly, these days."

With a frown, Faith slowed her pace, "You know all this how exactly?" she questioned, "Last time I checked, it's been a while since you've stepped foot in this place, and I don't mean to, you know….but it's just a little strange that you obviously have the lowdown on this place."

"Yeah, well, I might have had someone keep an eye on things for me," she shrugged, "You know, just incase something huge happened, and I needed to be notified immediately."

"Something huge," they walked up to the door, and looked at each other for a moment before Faith lifted her hand to knock, but as usual, someone opened the door before her hand could actually make contact with it. She was relieved, however, to see that it wasn't some random newbie, or Andrew. Instead, it was Dawn, who had left a little before them, in order to talk to Buffy alone….by the expression on her face, which showed that she was definitely not happy, things had not gone so well, "What's up with you?" Faith asked, as she walked in.

After Kennedy was inside, Dawn shut the door behind them, and then walked around them as if they weren't walking fast enough, "I don't want to talk about it," she mumbled.

Kennedy huffed, leaning closer to Faith, "Good, 'cause I don't wanna hear about it," her friend elbowed her in the side, sending a sharp pain throughout it, "What? She would be talking for hours and hours, and…." as they entered the dining room, the one for the 'workers' only, her sentence trailed off. Willow was already seated, in her usual spot--Kennedy could see the back of her as she walked in, and that was enough to make her stumble slightly, unnoticed to all but Faith. She supposed at that moment, that maybe the night wasn't going to go as smoothly as she had thought it would. That maybe she would have some difficulty in keeping herself focused on the task at hand, whatever it may have been.

Next to Willow, on the right, was Buffy, who turned and glanced at her for a moment, before turning to face forward again. On the right side of the redhead, Xander sat twiddling his thumbs, next to, which was the end of the table, Andrew sat, looking all proud of the fact that he was even at the meeting….as usual. The other side of the table, which was empty as they walked in, was where they were going to sit--Dawn, next to Andrew, then Kennedy, then Faith, and at the head of the table was an empty chair, in front of a dimly lit fireplace, which everyone knew Giles was going to sit in. Being so lost in her thoughts, however, Kennedy hadn't realized that she had sat directly across from Willow.

Buffy of course, noticed right away, and looked over at Willow, to see if she was alright where she was, or if she wanted to switch seats, though either way they all would have been in the same room. The redhead gave a small smile, letting her know she was fine, to her relief, though she swore she could see the woman shaking, 'We need to just get this over with,' she thought to herself, as she looked over at Faith, "Giles called a while ago, he'll be here soon," she said, to everyone really, but she kept her eyes on the once rogue slayer.

"Whatever, B, there's no rush, here," her husky voice seemed to have a slight edge to it, but no one said anything at all, and she didn't add any sort of grin, or any scolding looks, which would prompt someone to say something, "If he's called us all here, it's gotta be something huge anyways, so I'm sure we'll all be sitting here for a while."

With those words, a sort of tension rose in the room, and Andrew laughed nervously, "Isn't it, uh, funny how all of us are sorta sitting?" he asked, glancing at everyone, "Divided we sit," another nervous laugh, "And here I am, in the middle of this battle of loyalty and trust."

Dawn frowned, "Shut up, Andrew," she looked over at Buffy, "Hopefully we'll get to return to our house vs. house situation soon--I for one, don't think this place feels like home, anymore."

"I second that," Faith mumbled.

"You know what, this is just ridiculous," Buffy glared at the both of them, "Dawn you're the one that decided to move out with Kennedy and Faith. No one asked you to go, or told you to go, you left all on your own, and instead of acknowledging that fact, you come up with all this stuff trying to make it seem like no one wanted you here in the first place--"

"I didn't come up with anything," Dawn practically yelled.

Kennedy cleared her throat loudly, "Can we not do this right now?" she asked, "You guys are seriously acting like a bunch of idiots. We need to be focused so whenever Giles walks through that door, we can tackle whatever it is that's going on. All of this bullshit we've got going needs to be pushed aside--This ain't group therapy, and I sure as hell wouldn't want Andrew, seeing he's the only one not wrapped up in this, to be the one handing out advice."

Andrew nodded, "It would be good advice."

Xander raised his hand slightly, "I'm with Kennedy on this one. Let's just relax, see what's trying to kill us all, now, and then go back to our dysfunctional family time sometime when we're not all on someone's hit list--Or you know, when the world isn't on someone's, or something's, hit list, because we all know Giles didn't call us here for a healthy game of taboo."

"Unless, he doesn't know exactly who is trying to destroy the world," Willow shrugged.

"But that'd be more like clue," Xander pointed out.

They heard the front door open, and close, letting them know that someone had arrived--As they had suspected, it was Giles, "Uh, hello, everyone," he said, with a slight smile. The type of smile that let them know that something was indeed everyone. He had a few books in his hand which he sat down, before removing the jacket he had on, then he sat down, "I suppose you're all wondering why I've called you here."

"Let me guess," Kennedy said, looking up slightly, as if she were thinking, "The world is ending."

"Not exactly, no," the man said, while opening one of his books.

Xander snapped, "Darn. Well, at least we can take the world ending variety out of the clues--That just leaves, oh, about all the rest of the evil in the world."

After a moment of simply staring at Xander, Giles cleared his throat, "Yes, well, can someone get me a glass of water?" Andrew rose from seat, "Thank you, Andrew," after a moment, the young man returned to the room, and sat the glass down in front of him, with a slight bow, which everyone just rolled their yes at, "Okay," he took a sip, "I've recently been notified of some attacks on a rare breed of beings that live here in our realm, and it seems that these attacks, while seemingly light, and insignificant are part of a larger plan that can throw the balance of good and evil off, permanently."

Kennedy leaned forward, "Now, when you say permanent, do you actually mean permanent, as in we can't ever ever fix it, or permanent as in we might die trying to fix it, but in the end it'll be fixed, and it obviously wasn't so permanent after all?"

"It's not like there hasn't been other times where the world was doomed, and yet, not so much," Willow said, understanding what Kennedy was saying entirely, "So, it's kinda like…is it really permanent, or are the bad guys hoping it will be permanent?"

Giles took a deep breath, "It will actually be permanent," he passed the book he was looking at, over to Willow, "These beings that are being attacked have no name in my books, due to some risk for them when their name is spoken, if they are in the room--They are connected to the four elements in ways that are unimaginable."

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked

"From what I've been told, and read, it's as if every single one of the elements--earth, wind, fire, and water--come through them. Exist through them, and them alone. All the explanations we have been given on how these things exist are inaccurate. Completely false, actually. They are how we have these things."

"And someone's trying to wipe them all out?" Faith questioned.

Willow, having read a few lines from the book, looked up, "That wouldn't do them any good. Everything would be destroyed. Completely destroyed, and there'd be nothing left to control."

"Meaning that the they're not trying to destroy the world," Kennedy added.

Dawn frowned, "So what's with the attacks, then?"

"Well, apparently not all of these beings are simply providing us with these four needs. According to my source, a few of them have decided that they want to have a little bit more control of this world, and seeing that not all of them are willing to break the laws set for them, they're trying to kill off all those that don't agree with their, uh, progression. Their goal is to wrap the world in darkness by no longer using their capability of fire--the sun being counted as well--so that all that dwells in the darkness can come above ground at anytime."

Buffy nodded, "Chaos is their goal, then."

"No, that wouldn't give them anything, either," Kennedy tapped her finger repeatedly, and then stopped, "They want control of the chaos."

"Ah yes," Andrew squint his eyes, "I see."

"Because of this power that they hold," Giles continued, used to being interrupted as he had been, seeing that he had all the information to tell them what exactly was going on, "They have been able to gain leverage over anything that needs the sun to be gone, in order to walk the earth. They become the ultimate power, beyond what they are now--They'll have everything and more."

"But why do they want this, all of a sudden?" Willow questioned, "It says here, as we all know, they've been around since the beginning of time. Why are they suddenly so power hungry?"

"They believe their queen has died," he opened another book, "When their leaders die, however that is possible, they immediately appoint someone else, usually of the royal blood line, in order to keep everything running smoothly, but who they've picked, because the queen appeared to have no children before her death, is someone that is obviously not one for simply lying about making it rain every once in a while. Instead, he wants power, and claims to be doing what he's doing in order to protect them from being manipulated by good or evil. Throughout time, both good and evil have used the elements one way or another to fight each other for control, but they're no longer willing to be the catalyst to our on going battle. Well, not the ones that are completely loyal to their new king. There are some that are perfectly fine with how life is for them, and these are the ones that are being attacked, because if they're alive and are against wrapping the world in darkness, they can join with other's labeled as rebels in order to keep it from happening."

"And one of these rebels, I'm guessing, is your source of all this information," Buffy assumed, as she started to connect the dots.

The man nodded, "Yes, that is correct.

Buffy nodded, "How do we know we can trust them? That they're not trying to just send us in the wrong direction while this king gets to the actual rebels?"

Suddenly, the once small fire in the fireplace, grew large, looking as if it were going to flow out of the fireplace into the rest of the room--And, in a way it did. The fire grew into a figure, that was walking past Giles, who seemed do not be afraid at all by what was happening, while everyone else in the room looked horrified--Of course, the three slayer's in the room rose from their seats, but they stood still when Giles told them not to do anything. The figure, though still seeming only to be walking fire, was a woman, they could see that, even before the fire slowly went out, and she could been seen looking human--She was medium height, looking to only be in her early to mid twenties, with light brown hair pulled back into a bun, leaving some of her hair poking out from behind her head, her skin had a slight tan, and behind her thin black glasses were a set of dark green eyes. She wore a long, trench like, tan jacket over a white and light blue stripped button up shirt, with a black thinner tie, black dress pants, but her feet were bare, which, as she lifted her hand, to reveal that her pumps were in her hand, seeing that everyone was looking her over, was thus explained.

"You can't truly know," she said, in a calm sweeping voice, "It's up to you whether you believe me when I tell you that I have no interest in bowing down to a mad man, or changing the order of things when I'm perfectly happy with my life as it is, despite constantly being pulled away from it because of an age old battle," Giles rose from his seat, and offered it to her, "Thanks, my feet are killing me," she sat down, and looked at the standing slayer's, "Feel free to sit down whenever your legs get tired."

"That may take a while," Buffy said, still on the defense.

"We can do this all day," Faith said, next.

Kennedy simply stared at the woman, not saying a word. She really didn't need to.

"Fine, whatever, but I think that I can outlast all of you in terms of how long you can really do this--Want me to prove it?" she asked, keeping the same tone, while also seeming to mock them, in a way, "I have no interest in your war, in good or evil. I am a catalyst--I live because I was created to keep this world in existence in all the ways that it exists. The ground you walk on; the air you breath; the water you drink; the fire that keeps you warm," she paused, "That comes from who I am--But I won't lie to you and say that I give a shit about any of you. I'm here because I need my life to be protected by those who are obligated to protect, just as I'm obligated to exist as I do. Just like you, I'd rather be somewhere else, doing something else, but have been called forth to do what needs to be done. Now, whether you end up killing off the rest of my kind…that's just part of the circumstances--The part I can deal with. But, what I can't deal with is giving up the life I've created for myself, despite all the obstacles I have faced."

Faith laughed, slightly, "And you think you telling us this is gonna make us wanna help you, how exactly? All I just heard is, I only care about myself--If all of you die during this, at least I've still go me. Sorry, but that doesn't make me feel all warm inside."

"Ah, well, that's too bad isn't it? You not feeling warm inside?" the woman rolled her eyes, "I've got something you need to even have a chance of stopping this from happening, so even if I am just out to protect my own ass, at least you get something as a payment. If I happen to die during all this--You guys just might have a chance, anyways. But, if I'm alive, and you keep it that way, then I'm pretty sure that you've got an even bigger chance, because if you just let me die, and they find out who I was…the rebels…who, by the way, I do not really associate with, you'll not only face a problem with the king and his band of mindless followers, you'll also have a problem with the rest of my kind."

Willow was next to question the woman, "Why is that, exactly?"

"Because," Giles answered, "She is the secret daughter of they're recently dead queen, hidden away at birth in order to be protected from those who were rising up, even before the queen's death."

"They don't know that I even exist," the woman looked down, "They don't know now," she paused, "but they will."

"But, if you've been a secret since you've been born, then it doesn't make sense for you to suddenly be revealed, does it? How could anyone, other than us, find out who you are?" Dawn asked, getting the woman to look directly at her.

"They'll find out, because I told someone," for a moment she didn't blink. She simply stared, seeming not to even be breathing, but as strangely as she had froze, and just as quickly, she blinked and looked away, seeming to be lost in thought.

Andrew leaned forward in his chair, "I too know the burden that comes with a life changing secret. The weight that bares you down--The nightmares that keep you from sleeping soundlessly--"

"Please be quiet," Giles said, sighing, and rolling his eyes, "As we speak, there's a call being sent out all throughout the world, forcing ever single, uh, being like hers to be revealed, and to come home. To come together in order to serve their king, or to be executed for treason, and--"

"The person I told will go home, and will be forced to tell them everything they know….the location of anyone else that they've come in contact over the years. I've been using a spell in order to keep them from being able to sense me, so the call won't be able to take hold of me, but I wasn't trained in the arts, and so I can only keep this up for so long before they find me--If the king himself hears of my existence, he will have me killed before anyone finds out who I am, in order to keep the throne."

Kennedy sat down, which gained the attention of the room. There was something she saw in the woman's eyes as she had spoke of telling someone--Someone that would have no choice in the end but to reveal her identity, or location, putting her directly in harms way, "If you've been a secret to all your kind," she began, slowly, "then how does someone know? How does another being like you know?" at first, though the woman had not started to speak right away, she wanted to hear an answer, but she herself knew the answer, and therefore didn't make the woman rehash the story, "Willow--" she said, looking to the redhead, "How about that spell we used a while back in order to keep anyone from tracking us down, you think it can help her out?"

Willow thought for a moment, and then nodded, "Yeah, I think it should work, but if it doesn't, there's a few other spells used for the same basic reasons. Maybe a few that even more powerful, and would last longer."

"We'll restock all the things needed for spells like those, just incase we have to try more than one, if some problems were to arise--"

Faith frowned, thrown off by Kennedy's sudden change from home defense, to defending a woman that had out right admitted that she didn't care if anyone survived the fight, as long as she herself was alive, "Whoa, Kenn, what are you--"

"Faith," Kennedy looked up at her best friend, looking her directly in the eyes. After a moment, Faith sat down, leaving only Buffy as the only one still standing, "If you're not on board, that's fine, but you standing there will only distract me, and I'd rather just get started with this before the house ends up getting attacked, because her spell, that I don't have much confidence in, since she hasn't been trained in the arts, wears off, and they track her down at the snap of a finger."

Buffy took a deep breath, and then sat down, "What's the game plan, Giles?"

Dawn lifted her hand slightly, "Uh, introductions would probably be good here, unless…I mean, we don't even know her name," she added, seeing that Buffy was giving her a look, "Forgive me if I don't want to call her fire lady."

"Or selfish lady," Faith smiled.

"I was thinking Phoenix," Xander nodded, "I mean, if the fire just happens to actual burn her to ashes, let's just say hypothetically, she's the earth part of the elements too, right, so like--Ashes, and she'd just then do that whole forming thing like she did with the fire."

"Genius," Andrew said, putting his hand on Xander's forearm, but when the other man gave him a look, with his one eye, he pulled it back, with a nervous laugh.

Kennedy smiled, and rolled her eyes, having forgotten just how funny she thought those moments were, seeing that she hadn't seen either Andrew or Xander in forever--It amazed her that Andrew was still so 'fascinated' with Xander. She turned to the mystery woman, and outstretched her arm, past Faith, "I'm Kennedy--The blonde is Buffy, attitude to my left is Faith, other side of me is Dawn," Dawn gave a small wave, "Next to her is Andrew, next is Xander, and then Willow. You already know Giles, obviously."

"I know who all of you are," her voice was neutral, despite her words, "I'm Shannon--Shannon Owens."

"Hmm," said tilted his head, "Not as mysterious as Phoenix."

"It's my human name; the one I've always gone by, and the only one that I give people, sorry," she shrugged, "Now, let's get this done, because I have things I need to do, and I can't exactly do them if I'm stuck here."

"Yep," Faith mumbled, "Selfish, arrogant…"

Buffy smiled, "Sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it?"

"Anyways," Shannon pulled out what looked like a scroll, from her jacket, "I've brought you a map of the area to give you a good clue as to where there might be a gathering of the top powers. They meet formally with the king once every few months at a very remote location that isn't that far from here," seeing that it was obvious that Willow had power, beyond physical strength, which she knew for sure was what was needed with her kind, she handed the rolled map to Willow, and then looked to Kennedy, "Take a look at it."

"Um, okay," Kennedy rose from her chair, and walked over to stand behind Willow, hesitantly. She had to lean over the woman to really get a good view of the map, and it had been a while since her and the redhead had been that close to each other--If she would have said she wasn't nervous, she would have been lying, but there was no need to say anything at all, everyone in the room had to sense that both her and Willow were uncomfortable in the position they were in. Eventually, she was actually able to focus on the map, "Is this the center of town?" she asked, looking over to Shannon, as she pointed to a part of the map.

Shannon nodded, "Yes, it is."

"As you can see," Giles moved to stand behind Buffy, able to see the map from there, "it's very close to where we are--Too close, really."

"But it's only a meeting place," Shannon put forward, "That is not the place they call home. That, I can not tell you the location of, not exactly anyways, because I've never been there, or been told of how to get there, but I can find it by a sort of….installed feeling. The only thing with that is if I go there, I'll be exposed immediately, and if everyone's coming home, and the majority of them are going against the good, then none of you slayer's will have the slightest chance, and Willow won't be able to protect all of you, no matter how powerful she is, because they can get to her from every angle--They can get to her if she even breaths in one breath, and prevent her from being able to do a single spell if something were to go wrong, and she needed to help all of you out of the mess you will create if you fight all of them at once."

"How about, when you're speaking," Buffy glared, "you try not to insult the people that are keeping you alive, when they don't really have to, because we have a habit of beating all odds, even without help from outsiders."

"I don't think you get just how dangerous this would be--The ground you walk on could end up sucking you in, or pulling you from all directions, the air you breath can be dropped to such a low temperature that you freeze instantly….you getting what I'm saying? There is nowhere for you to run or hide, and your magic can only protect any of us for so long."

"So what's the point in all of this, then?" Faith asked.

"To kill the king and let the people appoint someone else, someone that won't bring the world to it's knees; someone who will keep me from having to take the throne, which I've never wanted. If you can kill the king," she paused, "You become the ones that they bow down to, and since none of you, I'm sure want that kind of responsibility--Or could even handle that kind of responsibility--you could simply pick someone that is trust worthy, which I can help you with, easily."

"I was unable to find this place, even after driving around for hours," Giles said, pointed to the red circled area, "This is where the meeting is supposed to be."

Kennedy looked at the center of the map, which was a bit away from the circled area, and thought for a moment, before she traced a route with her finger, "That's because, you can't drive to it, you have to walk. Willow--"

"We've been there," the witch finished, "There's a hidden restaurant, practically impossible to find, that Kennedy had somehow managed to discover, and get us into, the night we…." she swallowed hard, trying to resist letting any of those emotions--those sad emotions build within her, "It's very quiet, and dimly lit, very--"

"Actually," Kennedy stood a little, unconsciously putting her hand on Willow's shoulder, "the night that we went--How long ago was this last meeting, if you know?"

Faith, loosing her concentration, let her eyes land on Kennedy's hand, her eyes narrowing for a moment. She could see the muscles in Kennedy's hand tense and relax repeatedly, though in a very slight way, which let her know that even if the initial move of Kennedy's hand may have been accidental, that she believed, Kennedy was at that moment fully aware of what she was doing, and was keeping her hand there, because she wanted it to be there. That, Faith knew to be true, in more than one way. Kennedy was right where she wanted to be. Blinking a few times, she looked away from Kennedy's hand, and her eyes landed on Buffy, who too was looking at the once couple, seeming to lost in thought, contemplating what she was seeing, and maybe what that made her feel. That, however, Faith had no interest in, not at the moment anyways. She turned her attention back to Shannon, who was about to answer Kennedy's question.

"I want to say….six months, I think," Shannon answered.

"They were there," Kennedy thought back, "I remember when we were eating, there was a group of men that came in, all of them in these black expensive looking suits. Most of them looked a bit older, but one of them one of them was younger, and then an older woman came in and sat with them."

"That was my mother," she interrupted, "And the young one was Marcus. He was my mother's right hand, and apparently, her enemy, seeing that he is the king we need to kill."

Those words put a thought into Willow's mind; one that she recognized, and therefore had to question, "Did he kill her?" she asked, "Did he kill her, and now you're just wanting to take some kind of, uh, revenge?" she hated to ask that question, but she had felt that the question had to be asked, seeing that Shannon had no interest in the side of good or evil, but just happened to come to them with the idea of killing someone, who had obviously betrayed her mother one way or another.

"He didn't kill her. She was tired, and chose to die--No one can kill the one in charge without everyone knowing. If he would have done it, because my mother was part of the royal bloodline, they would have killed him immediately. There's this huge thing with treason, they're obsessed with it. It's so human of them. Anyways," she cleared her throat, "I want him dead so I can go back to my life."

"At least she's honest," Dawn shrugged.

"Okay, well, so how exactly do we kill this guy, and not get killed by these old guys, seein that they can attack us from all sides?" Faith wondered.

"We're not trying to kill him at the meeting, it would be impossible. Outside of the restaurant, he has other ones like me watching for any sign of danger. Any possible threat at all. The problem is, they remain invisible until the threat is actually confirmed as a threat, by means of trying to attack who ever is in charge, and when they do reveal themselves, it's only to strike, and kill. It's these guys you need to worry about, not the elders, they will just vanish. They're no threat at all, really. Basically, they're like retired old people. The guards are specifically trained beyond the rest of us, and so we need to get rid of as many of them as possible, mainly the leader of them, because he could easily go train a new group, whereas the rest of them--It'd take time," she shook her head, having said things in a more complicated way then she had meant to, "Okay, we are working our way through a line of people in order to be able to even out the odds a little bit more, before we go for the king himself."

Faith folded her arms, "So basically, we go, we slay these guard guys, and then we go after some more of whatever you are, take them out, and then go for the king--Let's get the girls, and some weapons, and head out, then."

"You," Shannon said, in a flat tone, as she turned to look only at Faith, "You would get everyone killed, if you did that. First of all, we have about two weeks before the meeting, so sorry, no slay for you tonight. Second, none of your weapons could do shit, which you would know, if you'd just be a little bit more patient and let me actually get to that. The only way to kill us is to remove our soul--Which yes, there's many spells for, but you need one that will remove them immediately, because you have to be close to do it, and if you give them enough time to attack, you're a goner."

"Uh," Xander nervously, tapped his fingers on the table, "So, why don't we just whisper this spell into the kings ear why we're out and about. Have Andrew dress up as a wine pourer or something, and--"

Shannon's brows rose, "Don't you think, if it were that easy, someone would have done it already? Once you gain the throne, there's a bit of extra powers you gain with it, and one of them protect your soul to the point where you're pretty much invincible in all aspects. Look, there's no point in even really thinking of that part of the plan, yet. We need to focus on the lower ones first, and then we'll get to what it takes to kill the king."

"In other words," Buffy frowned, angrily, "you're not going to tell us how to tell the king until then? That's what you're saying, isn't it?" she looked to Giles, "I don't trust her, Giles, she's obviously not even going to cooperate."

"I am cooperating," the woman said, angrily, "I just know how we need to do this, and what we need to focus on, so I think we should just stick to that, and worry about what comes later, when and if we actually get there."

"Okay, let's just lay down all the things we know we need, and then just call it a night, 'cause all of are obviously in some need of a break," Kennedy removed her hand from Willow's shoulder, and stood up entirely, "We're going for the little guys first, which is fine, because it'll give us a good taste of what we're working with, since we obviously haven't faced anything like this before. Over the next few days, we can get all the girls together, put them through even more training, so we just be a little bit more confident in them. Buffy, Faith, you guys are in charge of that, so what are you thinking?"

Faith looked at Buffy, "We can come up with a few extensive courses, just so they can get them to be as fast as they possibly can, but considering that weapons and stuff aren't really what we need here--"

"We don't have much that we can do other than some speed enhancing workouts," Buffy finished.

"I suggest that you find some way to test them in different sorts of weather--The guards will be caught off guard the first time, but after that, they'll start using their powers to make things as difficult as possible. Their last resort is to start an outright war against you 'good' guys, so they'll just try to make it harder and harder to get anywhere near anyone of our kind. They'll start with weather changes. While they're getting used to different conditions, I can work with Willow to come up with a solution to a faster soul removing spell. I might not know much in that area, but I sure as hell know ways to take out and protect my own kind in terms of our actual life source. If you're up to it," she looked to Willow, "There will be lots and lots of dark magic use involved."

Willow looked down, knowing full well what the woman was saying. It wasn't like she hadn't used any dark magic since the end of Sunnydale, but from what they had even just discussed, she would be using multiple spells to keep Shannon hidden, along with trying different spells to remove the soul instantly. That was more than she had probably done all together since their big move. She looked up, hesitantly, turning to Kennedy, who was looking directly at her, asking, with her eyes, if she was okay with that, while also telling her that she'd be around to make sure she was okay. Part of her was a little upset that she still wasn't sure of herself in her magic, and that Kennedy being around was the only thing that made it any easier, while another part of her was somehow finding it calming to just have an excuse for Kennedy to be around more…or in their case, at all, "I'll fine with it," she nodded, and then turned to face forward again.

"Good," Shannon said, her relief going unnoticed.

"Well, then," Giles sighed, "Buffy and Faith can at least get the girls up and going tomorrow afternoon, seeing that they have classes in the morning, fill them all in, and we'll work out some thing with the varying weather. I don't think Willow should be part of that, since she'll be having to worry about so much, already. So we'll just do some slight traveling--Dawn and Andrew can go ahead and look up various spells for protection, as well as removing the soul, while Kennedy and Willow go get the supplies that are needed to--"

"Actually," Willow interrupted, swallowing hard, "I don't mean to be all--But, since Buffy won't be busy in the morning, can she--"

"I'll go with Willow," Buffy practically blurted, "We had plans to get a few things, anyways, so we'll just grab all that we need while we're out."

Kennedy, really a bit hurt, but seeming to find some part of their excuse humorous, had to keep herself from laughing, "I'll just stay at the other house, with the other girls, and since a lot of them don't have any classes, I'll take them out for a run, see how long they can last before passing out."

"That won't be acceptable," Giles said, gaining the eyes of everyone in the room. Everyone was expecting him to comment on the obvious conflicts that loomed in the room, but he was not concerned with that at all, "Everyone will need to be staying here, until all this is done and over with. That includes Shannon, who will need to have someone around to make sure, just incase the spells aren't enough, eventually, that some protection will be there, though it won't do much good until we figure out the soul removing spell."

"Does anyone else wish that these guys just needed a happy moment to lose their soul, too?" Xander asked.

Dawn laughed, "Yeah, then we could just pimp all the girls out. That would take care of some of them," seeing the looks she was receiving from everyone, except for Xander, of course, she stopped laughing, "I don't really have to be here twenty--four--seven, do I? I have absolutely no skills in the protecting, or fighting area, really, so I shouldn't have to--"

"Of course you shouldn't," Buffy, mumbled, while rolling her eyes.

Giles shook his head, "The only one that has the option of leaving is Xander, and that's because he has a job," he paused, "Now, if we're all done here, I will go call the other girls, and tell them to head on over."

"Can we at least go and get some of our stuff?" Faith asked, "Kenn and I don't have anything to--"

"Actually," Kennedy interrupted, "I've got all I need, here. There are some clothes that I left, so I'm good."

This was Faith's moment to keep herself from laughing, the same way Kennedy had kept in her laughter, "Well, I don't have anything here, so I'm going to just head over and grab a few things, and I'll get the girls while I'm at it. Then we'll be one big happy family, again."

"Okay, then, Faith you do that, and we'll have the rooms set up by the time you get back. You have a key to let yourself in, right, if we're no one is awake?" Giles asked, as he began to reach in his pocket for his keys.

"I'll stay up and wait for her to get back," Kennedy said, as she tossed her keys over to Faith.

Faith caught the keys, and then stood up, wondering if Kennedy was trying to say something to her, but she didn't really wait to find out. She stood up, and walked out the room, "I'll hurry."

After a moment, catching them all off guard, Giles spoke, "Buffy, go with her."

Buffy frowned, "What? Me? Why?"

"Some of the girls can't drive, and there may not be room for them in the other girls' cars, so go with her just incase," he said, as he took the seat Faith had been sitting in.

Dawn laughed, "You want Buffy to drive some of the girls back? They might not make it in one piece, just to warn you."

Giles sighed, "Just go, Buffy."

She looked at Willow, and Kennedy who was standing behind her best friend, and then stood up, "Fine, we'll be right back."

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Next time--Buffy and Faith hurry to get all the girls packed and ready to go, thinking they must rescue their best friends; Shannon decides to go for a walk, dragging someone along with her; Buffy makes a major discovery; and Kennedy has a change of heart.


	3. Home Is Where My Heart Is

Hey guys….It's been a bit longer than I had hoped, but hopefully all is well, and you guys are still interested in this. I'm so glad that I'm past the explainy part that was last chapter. Now, I can get back to the more fun, funny, exploration part. Thanks to all of you who reviewed, had the story added to your alert list, and/or added it to your favorites. Hope you all enjoy the chapter. Thanks for reading, let me know what you guys think.

Chapter Three: Home Is Where My Heart Is

Faith got out of her car, slamming the door shut, as she walked towards Buffy, who was getting out of her own car, "What the fuck was that?" the brunette yelled, her hands in the air, "You so cut me off back there."

"Yeah, well, you were going too slow," Buffy yelled, in return. Instead of waiting for Faith, who was stating to yell at her again, to meet her at her car, she started to walk towards the house, quickly, "You know what?" she interrupted, "We don't have time for you to bitch about my driving. Let's get the girls all packed and ready to go, get whatever crap you have here--Even though you could have just bought another toothbrush--"

"Haha," Faith rolled her eyes, "Of course, I only own that one thing, right."

"What half a shirt, and some jeans you've probably had since you were twelve counts as something else?" the blonde mocked, "God, why is this walkway so incredibly long?" she groaned.

Faith began to walk faster in order to pass the blonde, pushing her out of the way as she did, "Yeah, well, you're goin' too slow," she teased, "There's no big rush, B, and even if we did try to hurry things up, what's the likeliness of us getting these girls out of here as fast as you're wantin? I mean look at how huge this place is--We've got to check every room to make sure that we haven't missed anyone, make sure that they're getting all that they need for different temps and shit, since we'll be doin some different kinds of training. There's no way this is gonna be over in a flash, so if you only came to speed up the process, you're about to be disappointed."

She huffed, "Watch and learn," after flashing a quick smile, she opened the door, and stepped into the house. All the girls that they could instantly see, as they walked in, froze, frowning at seeing her in the house. Everyone in the mansion knew that it was Faith and Kennedy's territory, not Buffy and Willow's, so to see the blonde standing there…They were dumbstruck, "Everyone get as much of your belongings as you can, including some warmer clothes, and clothes for hotter days, you're moving to the other house. We don't have time for you to drag your feet, so move. Tell all the other girls, and let's get out of here," to her surprise, none of the girl's moved, "Are all of you deaf? Move!" after a moment of seeing the girls still weren't moving, Buffy turned to Faith, "Are they all deaf?"

"Hmm," Faith laughed, putting her hand over her mouth. She looked at the girls, there were about seven of them, one of which was frozen with a spoon of cereal hovering between the bowl in her hand, and her mouth. She was eighteen, tall, with died dark brown hair, and dark grey eyes--And, she was third in command, "Remy, why don't you toss that bowl of cereal and tell the other girls that we're having to pack everything up, and move to the other house, alright?"

The teen nodded, "Yeah, sure, Faith," she dropped the spoon in the bowl, and looked to the other girls, "You heard her, spread the word, tell everyone to save their questions, and complaints," as the girls started to make their ways to other parts of the house, she turned back to Faith, "Should we put a rush on this order, or can they all drag their asses?"

"No," Buffy blurted, "No, they cannot drag their asses. Do not drag your asses, we need to hurry."

Remy's brows rose, as she looked from Buffy, and then back to Faith, "What say you?" she joked.

"Put a rush on it. Tell everyone that we've got something big, and we all need to be ready. No time to waste," she nodded. Remy nodded, in return, and then headed towards the kitchen, "Uh, Remy, I'll take that off your hands," she paused, "Don't wanna waste food, you know."

"Right," Remy handed her the bowl. Then, she looked down at Buffy, who was just glaring at her, and back to Faith again, "Really?" she asked, as she began to back away.

Faith shrugged, "Size ain't everything," once the teen was out of sight, Faith took a few bites of the cereal, and started to head towards the stairs. After a few steps, along with a few shouts of 'sorry' as other girl's started to head to their rooms, she noticed that Buffy wasn't following right behind her, "I thought you were in a rush, B."

"What the hell was that?" she questioned, as she walked up beside Faith, "Size isn't everything? Was that twerp teen talking about me, 'cause I'm not going to put up with that at my hou…the other house."

"Oh yeah, I forgot that you run things in a more of a 'bark when I say bark' way," she laughed, and then stopped as a certain girl passed her, "Hey, Jen, can you take this for me?" she asked. The girl nodded, and grabbed the bowl, her thick black curls bobbing as she began to jog off, "Thanks," Faith shouted, just as she headed up the stairs, "All of you check the basement, and the courts outside, too, alright? Just incase we've got some stragglers. Anybody leave the house?"

A girl, who was heading downstairs, nodded, "Sasha, and Tammy left, earlier. Something about a movie date--I can call them."

"Yeah, go ahead and do that. If you can't get a hold of them, we'll just have to make a detour on the way to the other house--Mind as well text them too, tell them it's an emergency….actually, just text them, they'll get it eventually," once the girl was on her way, Faith continued up the stairs, not even trying to hurry at all. The way she figured, there were so many girls to wait for, there was no point in her rushing. She'd go upstairs to her room, pack all of her stuff, and then she'd still have time to stand around listening to Buffy complain about how the girls were taking to long. Speaking of complaints…

"You're not even trying to hurry," Buffy huffed, as she walked around Faith, to get to the other slayer's room faster.

"Whoa, not sure I want you in my room before I get there," the brunette said, shaking her head, "Just make sure not to touch anything, alright. I'm not one for the snooping, so I'd like everybody else to stay clear of my area," Buffy continued to rush up the stairs, which prompt her to move a little faster, "Hey, I'm serious."

**********************************

Dawn sat on the bed she had once slept in, with her shoulders slumped, and her eyes pointed towards the ground. She was in that house again, and not just to pay a friendly visit--Not that any of her most recent visits were friendly. It just didn't seem fair, 'Why is this happening to me? I finally move out, and get from underneath Buffy's thumb, and now I'm back here,' she sighed, as her thoughts wondered. First to the fact that she had forgotten how comfy her old bed was, then to the question of why her window curtains had been switched out with green ones, when they used to be white.

"It's weird being back here, isn't it?" Kennedy ask, as she walked into the room fully, "Your door was cracked, so--"

"It's cool," she waved her hand, "Please, help me escape from my thoughts slash oncoming depression. Suddenly finding myself right back where I started is not going so well with any part of me," really, it didn't make sense for her to be part of the group of people that couldn't leave. Sure, Xander had work so it made sense for him to be able to leave, but she had things outside of the slaying world too. She had classes that she needed to attend. Classes for which she had studied for days in a row, "Why am I here?" she groaned.

Kennedy shrugged, "Why are you here?" she asked in return, only to see a hurt expression on the younger woman's face, "You don't get what I'm saying, 'cause that totally came out wrong," rolling her eyes at her usual way of saying things the wrong way, she went to sit next to Dawn, plopping down with a sort of exhaustion that went beyond the physical, "Dawn, you're an adult. You're in college. Sometimes you work at that weird place in town. Don't you get that you don't have to be here? There's no one in this house that has any real authority over you at all, so if you want to go--Just go. In fact, if you really wanted to, you could leave this place all together. You can leave this life, and live just like any other person out there, minus the fact that occasionally you might notice that the world is coming to an end. If you really want out," she paused, "then walk out that door, and don't come back. But, you better be sure that's what you want, 'cause you can't live in both worlds. You can't know what's going on, and live an ordinary life, 'cause at the end of the day, you'd be right back here--Hints the fact that Xander can't really leave, either."

It made sense. As usual, when it came to certain things, Kennedy was making sense, and saying exactly what needed to be said. The truth was, it wasn't that Dawn wanted an ordinary life, she just didn't want her life to solely be controlled by the people she was trying to escape. If she was going to stay in the main house, again, she didn't want it to go back to being like it was before. And, like Kennedy said, no one in that house had authority over her, "You're right," she mumbled, turning her head to the side, as she continued to think through what the older woman had said, 'Maybe that was the problem,' she thought, forgetting about the other person in the room, 'I can come and go as I please, possible death in all. If I want to go to class, or go anywhere, I can go. No one can tell me what to do,' "I'm a grownup now," she declared, aloud. Hearing Kennedy laugh, she blushed slightly, and then laughed as well.

"Maybe you shouldn't say it like it's some major discovery. Just a suggestion," she smiled, "Hey, no matter what's going on here, some of us want you to stick around."

There was a light knock at the door, "Kennedy," Willow said, as she poked her head in the door, "We still have a few rooms to work out," seeing that both Dawn and Kennedy were smiling, Willow began to feel a little awkward. It was strange to have Kennedy back in the house, and even stranger to actually have to interact with her for long periods of time. They had spent so much time awkwardly walking around the house, that they hadn't really managed to get much done. There was a word here, and a word there, but actual planning--There had been a minimum of, "Did I interrupt something, or--"

"Nope, you didn't," Kennedy said, not meaning to cut the redhead off, but still managing to do it anyways, "I'll be right there," after Willow backed out of the room, she turned to Dawn with a sigh, "Besides," she stood up, and began to back away, towards the door, "the show has just begun. Mind as well stick around."

"Yeah, I could see that," her smiling continued all the way until Kennedy was completely out of her room. Once the woman was gone, Dawn grabbed her pillow, and fell back onto her bed, "Understatement of the year goes to…"

**********************************

"This shouldn't take this long," Buffy groaned, walking out of Faith's room in frustration. She turned to Faith, who struggling to zip up one of her bags as she walked, "What are you doing? Just set it down for a second, and zip it."

Faith gave a fake smile, "What, so you can yell at me for stopping for two seconds? Yeah, I'll just do it my way, thanks," she took a few more steps, still trying to push the excess amount of clothes deeper into the bag, so the zipper would stop getting caught. Suddenly, the bag was being yanked out of her hands, which caused her to growl slightly, "B, back off, I've got it," she said, taking hold of part of the bag.

"Faith, for once stop trying to act like a hard ass, and let me zip the damn bag, so we can get out of here," she pulled on the bag, only to have Faith pull even harder, but she still didn't lose her grip at all. For a moment, they just pulled it back and forth, both of them glaring at each other, "Just give me the bag. It's not like you're gonna lose some kind of street cred, or anything."

"Street cred? What the fuck are you--B, just let it go. Now, you're the one wasting everybody's time. You can't take charge of ever single little thing," after a few more seconds of tug-o-war, the bag tipped to the side, and all of the clothes that it had contained fell over the stair railing, which neither slayer had noticed they had stopped next to. Faith followed the clothes with her eyes, watching them land on a girl walking beneath them, "Hey, look….out," of course, she had not said it soon enough. She looked to Buffy, "Now--"

"No, don't say anything. I'm not the one that couldn't zip up a bag," with a quick tug, she pulled the bag from Faith's grip, and then looked at the girl downstairs, "Hey, you mind putting those clothes in this bag for Faith? She's not good with zippers that aren't attached to her own pants….wait, she's not good with those either," without waiting for an answer, she through the bag downstairs, "Thanks."

Faith crossed her arms, "You got an issue with me, or something? Or should I say, a new issue, 'cause you've always got something hangin over my head. What is it this time? Is it because I wouldn't let you take a peek into my undie drawer."

"Please," she rolled her eyes, "I wasn't trying to take a peek at anything, I was just to help you get all your crap. Do you even wear underwear?" she asked, with a frown.

"Wouldn't you like to know," the brunette grinned, but the blonde only rolled her eyes again, "Fine, whatever."

"Don't you get it?" Buffy asked, "Don't you get what us being here means? It means that Willow and Kennedy are at the other house--The same house."

"Yeah, and a whole bunch of other people are there with them. You're acting like they're sitting alone in some dark room, with nothing else to hold on to but each other," for some reason, her analogy only brought her to roll her eyes, just as Buffy had done so many times, "You know what, they're adults, they can take care of themselves. We're all gonna be living together anyways, while all this is going on, so they need to get used to seein each other all the time."

Buffy just stared at her for a moment, then she spoke again, "You've got to be kidding me. You think that those two are ready to spend a bunch of time with each other? I don't know about how Kennedy reacted to this whole thing, but Willow was actually torn apart over it, and unlike Kennedy, she wasn't so quick to just move on and start making out with any random skank that crossed her path."

"Here you go again, playin like Willow's some helpless victim in all of this. You know why you don't know how Kennedy reacted to them breaking up?" she asked, actually giving the blonde a little bit of time to answer the question, which, of course, she didn't, "You don't know, because you weren't around to know. None of you were, really. I am the only one that knows what she went through, so all of you Willow fans in the main house need to just shut the fuck up, and mind your own business instead of assuming you know things, when you haven't got a damn clue. I don't care about you wanting to protect Willow, 'cause I get that lookin' out for your best friend thing," to that, Buffy huffed, "Fuck you, B," she pushed past her, and started down the stairs, "Hey, you don't have to put those in the bag, I'll do it, go put your stuff in the truck in the garage, we're going to take that instead of the car."

Watching as Faith headed down the stairs, Buffy found herself wondering why she constantly found herself criticizing Kennedy to Faith, of all people. But, every time her and Faith had been around each other, since Willow and Kennedy had broken up, she had found herself yelling at the other slayer, when it wasn't even her that she was yelling about, "No, I didn't mean that, with my lack of actual words," she walked down the stairs, annoyed by the situation. Once she was at the bottom of the stairs, she went over and started to help Faith pick up all of the clothes, "I know you get why I'm protective over Willow. And, you know, I get why you're so protective over Kennedy--"

"You don't get it," Faith said, cutting the other slayer off, "There's a difference between being protective, and being what you're being. I don't assume how Willow reacted to all this, because I know it had to be hard for her. It would be hard for anyone who had what they had--So maybe you should think about that the next time you wanna go bad mouthing Kennedy, and how she handled things, alright."

"Fine," Buffy nodded, "I guess I could do that."

She laughed slightly, "You guess you can," she smiled, "I guess that's the best I'm going to get from you."

"Yep, pretty much," her brows rose slightly, as she picked up a piece of clothing, "What are these purple things…?"

**************************************

Kennedy walked out the front door, with a clipboard in hand, to wait for everyone to arrive. Faith had called her and gave her a heads up, so them showing up wouldn't be so chaotic, so she was beyond prepared for each and every one of them. She knew how the girls were, and that when they were tired, and probably aggravated, they were usually ready to lay their heads somewhere, so making them stand around and wait was not an option. Not if she didn't wan the process to take hours, and be full of complaints--Loud teenage chaos. For her, that equaled a lack of sleep as well, so it was best to be prepared, and to get it over with as quick as possible. After dealing with the process of figuring out where everyone was going to sleep, with Willow, she felt that she was in desperate need for some time to herself.

Just as her mind had started to wander to events from earlier that night, a line of cars pulled up in front of the mansion, along with a few motorcycles that belonged to the older girls mostly, "This is going to be fun," she sighed, as a flood of girls headed in her direction. She could hear Buffy shouting for them to be quiet when they went inside, but she couldn't spot the small blonde, which only made the group of girls look like an even bigger group, "Alright, all of you just come stand in front of me, I'm gonna split you up in two groups, and then we'll get you to your new rooms."

"New, as in permanent?" Remy shouted, as she made her way to the middle of the group, "Not that I'd be complaining or anything, I just wanna a little heads up if I'm gonna be here for more than just a few months."

"Yeah, Remy," Kennedy shook her head, "I wish I knew the answer to that, but I don't, so for now, we'll put that on the back burner," she looked down at the list on her clipboard, "If I call your name, go stand by Buffy. She's somewhere around here. Buffy raise your hand--" once she saw Buffy's hand go up, she laughed slightly, and then began to call out names until the large group was pretty much split evenly, "Okay, Buffy, here's the list of where all of your group will be rooming. All the rest of you, Faith and I will show you where you're going."

They all started to break apart, and the sound of chattering girls began to rise, but as soon as Faith, who had made her way to walk in the lead, along with Kennedy and Buffy, turned around all the girls were silent, to her satisfaction. It wasn't too late, but considering all the training that was about to begin, she figured that everyone was getting rest while they still had the chance, "Hope this doesn't take forever," she said, looking to Kennedy, who was still looking at the clipboard in her hand, even as they walked into the mansion, "I'm about ready to hit the sack after all of that."

"Well, if it's going to be anything like the process of making this damn list, it's going to take a while," she looked up for a moment, and then headed towards the staircase on the left side of the house, "We've pretty much got this whole side of the house for these girls, but a few of them will have to be downstairs in the back parts, also known as the area that lacks supervision, so only the oldest ones will get that area," she heard a series of groans, and shook her head, with a slight smile, "Wonder why that is," after showing a few of the girls their rooms, she spoke again, "Your room is over there," she said to Faith, "Thought I'd put you a little further down."

"Sure," Faith nodded. Really, she didn't care where she was sleeping, as long as she got her own room. Apparently, there had been a shortage of space, so some of the girls who had had their own room were having to pair up, and that also meant that one of the head people would lose a room--Buffy had been voted to lose it, since she had yet to really do any real decorating in her bedroom, "So, how'd it go?' she asked, a few moments later, "The whole room set up with Red--"

"Um, it was--Hey, Jack and Mimi, you've got this room, and the rest of you got the ones in the back of the mansion, just choose which one you want, and I'll come down there to check it out in a sec," she turned to Faith, "It was what it was."

Frowning, Faith watched Kennedy walk away, not saying a word at first, because it was obvious that Kennedy wasn't giving details for a reason, but eventually, she just couldn't hold it in, "What's that mean?" she asked, following behind the other brunette.

"It means I don't wanna talk about it," she answered, honestly. Feeling that Faith was still watching her, she turned to face her best friend, "It just--I--" her eyes went to the floor, as she searched for the words, "I wasn't ready for it, okay. I-I wasn't ready. I thought I was…"

"Oh…" that was all she had managed to say, as thoughts of what Buffy had said crept into the back of her mind. Still, she knew what she had said had stood true as well; Willow and Kennedy would have to adjust to seeing each other. Unfortunately, she couldn't bring herself to say that to Kennedy in that instant, "Hey, if you need me to, uh--"

"No," she blurted, "No, I don't need you to do anything."

There was a certain hostility present in Kennedy's voice that caught her off guard, "Kenn, you know that I'm not gonna judge you, or anything. We've been through this before, and I get it, I really do--You don't have to act all tough, and pretend this doesn't effect you. It's really not--"

"Just stop, Faith. I said no," she opened the door in front of her, sighing in the process, "Tell the girls I'll check them off, tomorrow."

"Fine," Faith nodded. She watched as Kennedy disappeared behind the door, still staring even once the other slayer was out of site, feeling a sense of frustration, disappointment--which she didn't bother to further explore--and pain. Moving back, she knew would have an effect on their friendship, but she hadn't expected it to revert so quickly. One night was definitely too quick for her taste, but what could she really do about it, without pushing Kennedy over the edge, and possibly screwing things up completely.

"I wanna go for a walk."

"What?" she shook her head, hearing the voice from behind her. When she turned, she was shocked to see Shannon, already seeming to be ready for bed. The woman still had her glasses on, but instead of her more professional looking attire, she was in a white shirt, light blue pajama pants, and flip-flops. Plus, her hair, was no longer as neatly pulled back. Instead, it was pulled back with some of it up in a bun, but a lot of it hanging down--She looked much younger, in Faith's opinion, "What do you mean, you want to take a walk?"

"I mean, I wanna take a walk," she rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms, "And before you start going on about me not being able to leave, let me just tell you, I'm gonna go whether I'm supposed to or not, so you either come with me, or I go alone," she shrugged, "And I think you could use some air."

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Hey! Okay, no that's not the whole chapter, but I'm a bit busy, so I'm going to post this now, and then put the rest of the chapter up as soon as I can. I hope that you guys have at least enjoyed this part of it--Next time--Faith and Shannon have a revealing conversation; Kennedy has a change of heart; and Buffy makes a major discovery. Thanks for reading, let me know what you thought. -*ThomThom*


	4. I Think You’re Going In The Wrong

Wow, it's been a little longer than I had hoped, and I honestly wanted to be able to update this story multiple times a week, but I've just been way too busy. However, considering how long it's been, I decided to make this into a full chapter, instead of just the conclusion of the previous chapter. Hopefully, I'll be getting a bit more free time in the next coming days, and I'll be able to update again, but I can't make any promises. Of course, I want to thank all of you who reviewed, I'm glad you guys are still liking the story. And thanks to all of you for reading at all, especially considering that I'm a little inconsistent with the updating part. Anyways, hope you like the chapter. Let me know what you think-*ThomThom*

Chapter Four: I Think You're Going In The Wrong Direction…

"How hard is it to remember where the damn bathroom is?" Remy asked, glaring at one of the two girls that she was helping Buffy set up in a room, "She's told you three times now--You walk out the room, make a left, go all the way down the hall, make a right, and it's the first door on your left. Pretty damn simple if you ask me. Maybe you shouldn't drink so much crap to where you have to pee every five seconds, Michelle."

Michelle, who was slightly taller than Remy, with dirty blonde hair, and pale skin, crossed her arms angrily, "New house, equals new people in charge, Remy. So why don't you go fuck yourself. We both know why you're really being such an ass. Why don't we just put it out there, huh?"

"Don't you say a word about that, or I'll--"

Buffy, who had been listening to the girls, while helping the other one by clearing out the dresser, seeing that the girl's were getting her room, looked over at Remy, her brows rose, "Or you'll what?" both of the teens just looked at her, "New house, new people in charge--I say shut up, so guess what that means you need to do…" they were still silent, "Exactly. Now, Remy, pick up your bags in the hall, so I can show you where your room is, and I can go to bed, though not in my own room. I'll come get my clothes later," she said, placing them in the closet, "Then you two can put your clothes in the closet," her new room, as it turned out, was Willow's room--which she would be sharing with Willow. Out of all the people to loose a room, she didn't understand why it had to be her. Sure, she had yet to really decorate it, despite the fact that they had been there for a while, but that didn't mean it had to be her. In her opinion, some of the girls should have had to triple up, or Kennedy and Faith should have had to share a room, or something like that. She liked her privacy, not that Willow was the intruding type. She just felt unsure about it, as well as the new living arrangements in general, which itself made her wonder.

"So," Remy said, as they walked out into the hall, and headed towards the room that would be hers, "sucks that you lost your room," the blonde looked at her, with a sort of questioning look, "Oh, I saw the little picture you had on the dresser, before you put it in your pocket. The one of you and Willow, and Xander, so I figured it was your room. It was, right?"

"Key word being 'was'--" she nodded, "Now I'll be staying with Willow."

"You two are like best friends, right, so that's not exactly a bad set up. I mean, you could be rooming with one of us, and I'm sure that sounds like a blast," her sarcastic tone, she noticed, was responded to with a sarcastic laugh, "I'm sure it's your dream to pair up with a teen that's just ripe and ready to bug the crap out of you."

Buffy laughed, "I could just room with my sister, then. Same effect." she shrugged, "There's definitely a plus to it being my best friend that I'm having to room with. Still, nothing beats having your own space, when you live with so many people. Now I'll have to actually leave the house to be alone. Not that Will's the bothering type, it's just that it's her room, so I mean…I can't be in there all the time."

"Why the hell not?" the teen asked, as if she had just heard the most bizarre thing ever, "You've known each other since the dawn of time--"

"We're not that old," Buffy frowned.

"I'm not saying you're old, though that could be argued," she smiled, "All I'm saying is that you guys have been best friends since high school, if I'm right, and you've lived together year after year, from what I hear. This is just like living with each other, except you'll be sleeping in the same room. Best friends should be able to do that. Kennedy and Faith do it all the time. In fact, I don't know why they didn't just pair up. They're pretty much always together, anyways."

"Yeah they are," the older slayer huffed, in agreement, rolling her eyes as well. Even back when Kennedy had been living in the house before, when Kennedy wasn't with Willow, she was with Faith. However, thinking about everything the girl had just said, Buffy frowned once again, but this time, in a more confused manner, "Wait, what? What do you mean they do it all the time?"

Remy hesitated, at first thinking that the blonde was thinking that she had meant something else, but then she realized what was being asked, "Oh," she laughed, slightly, "Yeah, I mean, sure back at the house they both have their own rooms, but a lot of the time, Kennedy's in Faith's room. I mean, my bedroom is right across from Faith's, and I wake up pretty early, open my door, just 'cause it's a habit. A few hours later, usually, Kennedy would come out of the room, and then head to her own. Every once in a while, it would be the other way around, but I heard that from the other girl's, so who knows" there was an expression on Buffy's face that was unsettling, so she cut her eyes at the other slayer, "Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something weird? Is there something in my teeth, 'cause I did eat that thing on the way over here, and I totally thought I felt something--"

"No," she interrupted, "There's nothing in your teeth."

"Then what's up with the look?" she stopped walking, "Hey, wait a minute. Was I not supposed to be giving out this information….I don't think you're taking it the right way."

"Every night sleepovers--I think I got it," in her mind, something had clicked. Something she felt she should have seen all along--'There's something between them,' she thought, looking away from Remy, who had started to talk again, but she wasn't listening at all, 'Oh my gosh, they've been having sex….that's how Faith comforts her? By having--I mean, they're both pretty sexual,' she shook her head, trying to escape that thought, which made her catch the end of Remy's ramble.

"'Cause, no, it's not like that. They're just friends. I mean, if they would have been--I so would have heard them, 'cause hello, I've been around when Faith was screwing someone before….loud. Really, really, loud. Almost to the point of screaming. I didn't know whether I was supposed to rescue her, or curl up in a ball and die. Loud. So, no. No, no, no. And, gosh, you're Willow's best friend, so I really shouldn't have said anything--I should have been more clear. They just…I mean, I don't know what they do, but they're not--Kennedy's just down sometimes, and I think Faith is her go to gal. They probably just talk--I mean, they do just talk. They only talk."

"I'm sure they do talk," Buffy started to walk again, "With tongue," she added.

Remy watched the blonde walk away for a moment, before starting to move herself, "Well, yeah. You kind of need that to talk."

***************************************

Faith sighed as the wind picked up slightly, making her shiver. It was cold outside, colder than she had expected it to be, and yet she was taking a walk. Not only that, but she was taking a walk with someone that was a walking target. A walking target, who didn't have a jacket on at all, but didn't even seem to notice the dropping temperature, "You're not cold?" Faith asked. The woman only snickered in a way of saying, 'to be so tough…' which made the slayer more aggravated at the situation. She had not wanted to go for a walk after talking to Kennedy. In fact, she had wanted to go shower, and then go to bed, and try not to linger on the obvious drift that was already beginning to appear, but of course something had to happen to where she didn't get to do what she wanted, "How long are we gonna be walking around?"

"Don't know," she shrugged, "Until I'm ready to go back, I guess."

"I'm not walking around town with you all night, so I'm thinking you better enjoy the air now, 'cause pretty soon, we're gonna head back," it was bad enough that she had basically been forced to go with the woman, seeing that if she didn't everyone would have bitched at her about it, but she was not going to deal with the woman thinking that she could just do whatever she wanted, "You may be some powerful whatever the fuck you are, but you're not in charge, here. Since we're the ones saving your ass, what we say goes, and you're just gonna have to learn to fuckin deal."

Shannon looked into those brown eyes for a moment, slowing her walk down to a crawl, and then she turned away, and continued forward, "You're just wanting to go back so you can sit around and pout, anyways, so what's the rush? I mean, unless you're going to go to her and beg. Didn't think you'd be the begging type, but maybe I was wrong."

"Fuck you," she finally stopped walking, but Shannon just kept going, "You don't know shit," she said a little louder, so she knew the woman could hear her. She wished she could just turn around and go back to the mansion in that moment, but she knew that if she left, there would be consequence. Consequences she wasn't in the mood to deal with, "Turn around, we're heading back."

She laughed, loudly, "Go fuck yourself. Either you follow, or you go home, but I'm not going back until I'm damn good and ready. What will it be, Faith?" she asked, turning around to walk backwards, just so she could watch the slayer react to her, "Are you going to keep walking, or are you going to go back and let her see just how desperate you really are to please her?" the anger could be felt even from afar. It loomed in the air between them, threatening her to back off. But, what was it that she could possibly be afraid of, when she was the air between them, "Come on, Faith. It's such an easy decision. Or, are you just used to letting her make them for you, now? She says no, you bow your head. She says yes, you wag your tail. Am I hitting the mark?"

Faith started walking towards her, but not to follow her--Her fists were clinched, and her was short, as she picked up her pace, seeing that the woman was continuing to back away, though slowly. Usually, or lately, she had been able to hold herself back when someone made her angry. She had been able to just walk away, and keep herself from doing something stupid, but considering what Shannon had just said to her, there was no way she could stop herself. However, just when she was finally about to be within reaching range of Shannon, her phone began to vibrate in her pocket. At first, she was going to ignore it, but considering the current situation, the impending doom, she knew that wouldn't be such a good idea.

Shannon, who was actually amused by the whole situation, finally stopped walking, and just watched, "I bet I know who it is," she said, crossing her arms.

It was Kennedy, somewhat to her surprise, "Hey," she said, turning her head, slightly, not wanting to stare at the woman in front of her, as she spoke, "Nah, I'm not there," she could hear that Kennedy wasn't in the best place. That she was finally ready to talk about the fact that she was having a hard time, "I know I shouldn't have just left," she sighed. She wanted to ask Kennedy what was it exactly that she was supposed to do, but she didn't ask. Not only because someone was listening to their conversation, but also because she didn't want to pick a fight, "I'll try to hurry," was all she could manage, and that was the end of their conversation. After a moment of just standing there, looking down at the concrete beneath her feet, Faith lifted her head, and walked around Shannon, "Let's just keep walking."

**************************************

Dawn sat up, with a frown on her face, hearing someone knocking on her door, 'What's up with everyone stopping by lately?' she wondered, as she reached to turn on the lamp next to her bed, "Come on in," as the doorknob began to turn, she went through a list of possibilities for who could possibly be coming to talk to her, 'Maybe it's Willow coming to see what Kennedy and I were talking about--Nah, too forward. Buffy could be coming to bug me, or maybe Faith is just dropping by to see how everything's going. Something Buffy wouldn't do that's for sure,' her frown deepened, "Remy?"

"Hey, uh, I might have possibly started some drama in the house….already," she closed the door, and walked over to Dawn's bed, "Sure, it could be interesting drama…possibly even hot drama depending on how all this works out, but still--Drama. And…it involves your sister."

"My sister?" she questioned, sitting up even more, "Unless there's a guy involved, usually my sister is drama free--God, please tell me you didn't set her up with your brother Leo, 'cause really Remy, he's not her type, at all."

Her brows rose, "Somehow, I believe that," she laughed, before sitting down on the bed.

Not at all surprised by Remy just welcoming herself to get comfortable, but still slightly thrown off, Dawn pulled her knees up, slightly, "What are you talking about?" she asked, curiously. If there was one thing she had noticed about the teen sitting in front of her, she was one to read the signs--All kinds of signs, that would later check out completely. Deep dark secrets? Nope, not when Remy was around. Somehow, she seemed to know everything, while pretending to know nothing, or close to nothing, "I was just trying to keep her out of the dating pool, 'cause she tends to drown."

Remy huffed, "Oh, she's getting there," after a moment of just smiling, and internally laughing, she shook her head, "But, I didn't come here about that. I came here to tell you that I may have, accidentally," she stressed, with her eyes wide, "made it seem like Faith and Kennedy have got a little thing going. A thing in the realm of….friends with benefits," saying that last part, she shrugged nonchalantly, as if to pose that it was nothing. That it was no big deal at all, but in the back of her head, she knew she had just started to turn the kettle.

"You've got to be kidding me," sighing, she put her hands over her eyes, and shook her head slowly, "As if they don't have enough to ride each other about these days, now you're telling me Buffy thinks Kennedy and Faith are sex buddies. Seriously?"

"All I said is that Kennedy tends to sleep in Faith's room. It was your sister that assumed it was more than that. She's got a mind of her own, that one. Kind of interesting," seeing the expression on Dawn's face, she waved her hands in front of her, "Uh, in a completely not attractive kind of way, of course. Pretty sure I've checked out in all areas of possible dating--Male, female, or in between--Nothing," Dawn said nothing, which made her grin, "Why does it seem like you're not believing me, here?"

"Hmm, I don't know," she paused, "Because you're you, maybe," so she could scoot closer to the teen, Dawn crossed her legs, and moved forward, slanting her eyes, as she looked into the one's across from her, "Why exactly did you come to tell me any of this, especially considering my current predicament with my sister? 'Cause it's looking like maybe you've got something up your sleeve, Rem, and for me that equals red flag, move out of the way, 'cause she's on the war path."

"No no," she smiled, in a devilish way, "A little harmless fun, is all. New place, new things to get into--New people to get to know, and you know how much I love to get to know people, don't you?"

"Too bad you don't know me as well as you'd like to, Remy," they both stared at each other, with smiles across the faces, sending messages to one another, without saying a single word. The girl was strange, there was no doubt about it, and she worked in mysterious ways, but it was always an interesting process--as long as you weren't part of the master plan. However, her being there giving info one what was going on, hinted that maybe she herself was part of the plan, "Don't play around with them like this, you're in a whole new league."

"Are you trying to make me more excited? Look, all I'm doing is giving things a little push, there's no master plan to cause a stir. There's too much going on for that. But, a little bit of drama keeps things interesting, and your sister--she seems interesting. I wonder what's going to be going on with her for the next couple weeks. Personally, I think that she's gonna find herself somewhere she wouldn't expect to ever be, and at the worst time ever, to boot. But that's when everything just feels so right, isn't it?" another questioned unanswered, "Isn't it?"

Dawn just laughed, "If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you're a little bit evil. Lucky for you, I know you better than you know me, otherwise your new lab rat would be pounding the shit out of you," she pat the girl on the knee, "Go on, get out of here, you've got a lot of long days ahead of you."

Remy stood up, not protesting, at all, but when she got to the door, she turned back to Dawn, "Mind as well not go to sleep, Dawn--I'm thinking, you're up for one more visitor. Maybe…" with a wink, she walked out of the door, leaving Dawn sitting on her bed, rolling her eyes.

"She is so weird," she mumbled, not bothering to think of whether she could be heard or not, mostly because she would have said it to the girl's face, even. When they had first met, she thought the girl was too weird, and a little conniving, but the longer they were around each other, with Faith and Kennedy keeping a close eye, the more she realized that any time Remy seemed to be plotting something, it all worked out for the better in the end. She just had a habit of making it all sound doom and gloom in the beginning. Dawn reached over and turned her lamp off, laying down with a sigh, "Please don't let anyone else knock…"

**************************************

"You don't know anything," Faith said, after sighing, and running her fingers through her hair. They had stopped walking when they had reached the inner city park, and sat down on a bench. Faith at one end, her arm draped on the metal arm rest, and her legs wide, and Shannon at the other, her knees pulled up to her chest.

She had been waiting for the slayer to say anything, purposely staring at her, just to finally get her to talk, "I know," it was true. They had only just met, so how could she possibly know the person sitting next to her--or really, across from her--at all? Then again, seeing what she had seen earlier, a part of her instantly knew what was happening, just as Kennedy had understood how someone had found out about who she really was, "There are just some things that, uh, aren't easy to hide, and right now, your thing happens to be Kennedy," she paused, "More specifically, how you feel about her," both were silent for a moment, and she thought that maybe Faith would say something, but she had only sat there, staring out into the empty park area, so she began to speak again, "Everyone back there might not see it, I don't know. Staying with someone all the time can sometimes make you blind to what's right in front of you, but watching the two of you--Listening to what you were saying to her--There's no denying that there's something there."

"She's my best friend," she lifted her hand to push some of her hair behind her ears, only to find that she was shaking, and it wasn't only because it was cold outside, "I've never had a best friend before. Unless you count that guy I used to talk to in kindergarten," she laughed, "Don't think that counts though," unsure of whether she wanted to say anything else, Faith looked over at Shannon, who was looking at her intently. The look in those dark green eyes told her to go on. They told her that she was listening, but what they didn't tell her was why--Part of her needed to know why, but then again, she wasn't sure she wanted to know what. Was the woman up to something? Was someone actually taking an interest in what was going on with her only asking because they had some ploy to destroy all of the top slayers one by one?

Feeling that Faith was questioning her, Shannon nodded, laying her head on top of her knees, as she began to stare at some trees across the way, "Life here is so confusing. There's always something underneath the surface that gets in the way of things, or just completely destroys everything you are," she turned her head the other way, so she was looking at the other brunette, "I don't like people," she said, with a smile, and a raised brow, "And I don't trust them, but there are moments when all of those things disappear. There are people who make them disappear, even when you try to hard not to let them. They wake you up to things, for a while. Let you see the world in a whole different light. One that's more bearable, and easier to understand. But, then something else comes along, and it gets in the way, and you're right back where you're started. Alone. Or, on your way to it. Whether you're living in a house full of people, or not," she paused, "Yeah, I might be selfish, I definitely won't deny that--"

"Wouldn't believe you, if you did," Faith interrupted, finally.

"But, at least I'm honest. It might be in an 'I don't give a shit about what you think' kind of way, but it's got to count for something. You don't want to be alone, I can tell, and since I'm here, and I've got nothing better to do, so I mind as well bug the shit out of you, to help you out. You are saving my ass, after all," they both smiled at that, her sarcasm being mutually understood.

She had gotten somewhat of an answer to her question. No, the woman wasn't necessarily asking because she was actually interested in hearing about what was going on, but she was going to listen, and be honest, which Faith wanted, considering the last six months, "I don't know what happened," her first words were honest. Probably the most honest of words she had spoken in a long time, "We'd been friends since the great fall--"

"Sunnydale?" Shannon inquired.

Faith nodded, "Yep. Since then. I wasn't one to have friends. Never have been really, but this kid, she just starts talking to people, whether she's saying something nice, or just being a pain in the ass--Mostly, she's a pain in the ass. We'd train together, hang out when she wasn't with Willow, and eventually, I guess, I realized that we were best friends. It was weird, 'cause like I said, I'd never had one before. But, she had just started telling me all these things about her and Willow, about her and her family, about her days back in school, and all of that, and then I started to talk to her about a few things--Not everything, just 'cause there are some parts of me that I don't really get into, but mostly everything. I guess I really knew when one day I was talking to Willow, something had happened with Kenn's family, and had upset her, so I went to see what Willow thought, and turns out, Kenn hadn't even told her, which didn't go over so well…for either one of them."

"So what changed?" she asked, next, wanting to get to the key issue. From what she had witnessed in the hallway earlier, she felt that she knew already, but the whole point was to get Faith to say it. To get her to actually see what it was.

"They broke up. Not because of that, 'cause something like that isn't even close to being enough to break those two up, but they broke up for whatever reason. By then, I was already living in the second house, so Kenn decided to move there, too. Drawing a line between the two houses in a lot of ways, but I didn't care about any of that. I just wanted her to be okay. She was always in her room, just in there hour after hour, only coming out to shower, or eat. She wouldn't train, which is just like huge for her. She didn't talk to anybody, including me. All she did was stay in there, and sometimes I'd think that I heard her crying, and God," she took a deep breath, and looked to the sky, "It would kill me. I hadn't never felt anything like that. That need to help someone. To just make them smile, and let them see that it was all going to be okay. I didn't know what to do. I would just stand outside her door, and listen to her, ignoring the crazy looks I would get from the girl's when I'd cancel out all the training for the day, and tell them to go out and do something. Anything that didn't get the cops called on them," her mind wandered for a moment, "Only the couples would stick around, and Remy, but that's just 'cause she's such a weird kid," she laughed.

There was something heartbreaking within that laugh that made Shannon's curiosity grow. She smiled at her comment, and then pushed her to go on, "Eventually--"

"Eventually, I got the balls to go in her room, knowing full damn well that she didn't want anyone going in there. Being alone when you're hurting just isn't good," the irony of the moment didn't take her by surprise, at all. But, because she there was no way to truly know if that was why she had been dragged out to go for a walk, she didn't dwell on it for long, "I went in, and of course, she told me to get out. Yelled it actually. A few times. But, I didn't. I couldn't by then, I was already in there, and if I left, I knew I wouldn't come back, so I just stayed. With her being pissed, yelling at me, and she even trying tried to hit me, but she was pretty much off her game by that point, so it was all blocked easily. After a bit of just sitting on her bed, not saying a word, she just laid down, putting her head in my lap, and went to sleep. Just like that," she snapped, "That's when it all started to change. I mean, she was still in her room a lot, but at night, she started to come into my room to go to sleep, and she'd get really close," feeling uncomfortable, Faith swallowed hard. She had never talked to anyone about what went on behind her door at night, mostly because she knew Kennedy didn't want people to know just how messed up she was over the breakup, but also because part of herself was being exposed, "Until one night she just reached over and wrapped my arm around her, which was weird for me, since I'm not the cuddling type at all. But, after a few nights, I would lay in my room, staring up at the ceiling, and just wait for her to come in there, and most of the time, she would. She wouldn't knock, she'd just walk in really slow, close the door as soft as she possibly could, and after a while, I'd scoot over, and hold the covers up for her to get into bed, then we'd just go to sleep."

"You wanted to hold her," Shannon said, quietly.

Faith just nodded in response--

"But," the older woman continued, "it started to mean more to you, then it did to her, and now you don't know how to let her go. Do you love her?"

"I don't know," she laughed, bitterly, "It'd be really fucked up if I did though, so if it hasn't happened yet, it's only a matter of time. Living back in the main house, though, it's just going to make her realize what she already knows."

"Which is what, exactly?" she asked, with a frown, unsure of whether Faith was going to add more on to the story of the last six months, by saying more than just some holding occurred, or whether the line being draw was more predictably leading to a certain witch.

"That she's still in love with Willow, and that she wants to get back together with her. I guess I need to start letting go…of something I never had in the first place. Somewhere in there, I guess the lines just got a little blurred."

It was the more predictable route, as usual, "Sitting around pouting every time she pushes you away, isn't going to help anybody, especially not you. You want to let her go, then you're going to have to open your world up to other things; other people, 'cause right now, she's pretty much the center of your universe. First best friend and all," she shrugged, "that's kind of pathetic."

"Says the one who hates, and distrusts everyone, for what reason exactly?" Faith questioned.

"Well, like I said, at least I'm honest--I just gave you the best advice you're going to get from anyone. Now, it's just up to you to actually do something about all of this. You either tell her, or you let go, but no more in between stuff, or you're just going to continue to fuck yourself over," she stood up, and stretched, "Oh, and that means that means no more sleepovers, just incase you didn't get what I was saying. And, better sooner than later."

"Considering the fact that she won't even talk to me, right now, I'm thinking that the all of that is over with, anyways," Faith said, as she too rose from her place.

Shannon shook her head, "Ten bucks says you're wrong--Better yet, if you're wrong, we do this every night for the next few weeks. I can't say indoors for too long, so I mind as well take advantage of this perfect opportunity, don't you think? Let's go, slayer, you're going to freeze to death out here, pretty soon."

Following her as she began to walk, something dawned upon her, "Hey, isn't the temperature part of your whole deal?" the woman didn't answer, "You asshole."

**************************************

Buffy took a deep breath, relieved to finally be able to go to bed--Though not her own. After wondering around the mansion for a while, making sure that none of the girls, like the one that couldn't remember how to get to the restroom, were out wandering about. Lucky for her, there was no girls to be spotted, at all. Sure, she had ran into Andrew in the kitchen, but he was always in the kitchen. Sometimes, she wondered whether he slept in there, even, but she didn't care enough to really ask, 'I just want to go to bed, and not have to get up in the morning,' she thought to herself, rounding the corner and entering the hallway in which Willow stayed. Like Remy had said, it wasn't a big deal that she was going to have to share a room with her best friend, and there was no reason for it to be a big deal at all, 'It's not like we're going to become sex buddies,' that thought made her hesitate in her step, her face feeling slightly hot, but after a moment, she just kept walking, 'Wow, I'm super tired.'

When she reached the room, she knocked lightly, but didn't get a response, so she figured that Willow must have truly been sleep. When she had come back to the mansion, only to find Kennedy up, she had been a little surprised, though it was Kennedy who had volunteered to wait for Faith to get back. She had expected Willow to try to be her usual helpful self, but then again, maybe not, since it would involve even more time with Kennedy. That, she figured, was the real reason Willow was no where to be seen. She pictured the redhead sitting in her room, possibly in the dark, having an extreme mental babble session at the thought of having to spend the next few weeks with her ex in the house, but as it turned out, Willow did actually go to bed.

She walked into the room, slowly, closing the door behind her, and then made her way to the other side of the room, where she took off her pants, mentally slapping herself for not grabbing something to wear when she had been moving her clothes around, so the girls in her room could have room for their own clothes. There was no way she was going to go back, so she would just have to deal with sleeping in her underwear, and a shirt, and pray that she wouldn't freeze to death, considering that the room was colder than she was used to. Pausing for a moment, she could hear the sound of Willow breathing slowly, which brought a small smile to her lips. Thinking about it, she was happy that the witch hadn't been worrying about their returning housemates, and was actually able to get some sleep, 'Good thing Remy didn't run her mouth in front of Willow,' she kicked her pants closer to the wall, not in the mood to fold them, 'I knew something wasn't right. I just knew it.'

Careful not to lift the covers too high, and let the cold air seep beneath them, Buffy slid into bed, the warmth of it surprising her, 'Uh, okay,' the oddness of it disappeared, however, as soon as she was comfortable. It drew her in, making her sigh in relief. Finally, she was going to get some rest, and let the dread of the days to come wash away completely. Her mind needed a rest. It needed to stop thinking about the days to come, or what could be possibly going on, on the other side of the house, where Kennedy and Faith slept, 'Tomorrow…' was her final thought--Tomorrow, she would get answers, but in that moment, she began to drift off.

The sleep overtook her in waves, pulling her deeper, and deeper; tugging and pulling at her exhausted mind, and body. If she would have been fully awake, she would have been wondering why Willow's bed was obviously way better than hers. She was the one that had to fight and train, surely she should have had the most comfortable bed in the house--But, that didn't get added to her list of questions. Instead, it stopped even before it could begin, as the warmth continued to make it's way through her body, spreading first across her stomach, and then up her legs. Unknowingly, a smile crept onto her lips, and she let out a stifled moan. She hadn't been that comfortable in a long time--The warmth touched her neck, next, pulling her even further. Consuming her entirely. It wasn't until she put her hand on her stomach that she realized what was happening; what was making her feel so engulfed in warmth.

Her eyes shot open; her body stiff, and suddenly tense. It wasn't her own soft skin that she felt when she put her hand on her stomach, and the weight on her legs suddenly made sense, as well, 'Oh, God,' she swallowed hard, and turned her head as far as she could without moving her entire body. Despite the darkness of the room, only having a tiny bit of light peeking in underneath the door, and from behind the bedroom curtains, her best friend's red hair radiated beside her, 'Uh, this is…' noticing that her hand was still on Willow's, she moved it away quickly, letting out a feeble cry, because of the situation, 'I can't just push her off, or wake her up…she'd be so embarrassed. Hell, I'm embarrassed,' slowly she began to move her legs, but that only made the arm across her stomach grip tighter. For a moment, she thought that she'd just lay there. It wasn't like anything was happening. The other woman was sleep. But, when the hand on her stomach began to move, her body becoming more tense, and her eyes closing, as a strange feeling ran through her, she realized there was no way she could continue to lay there like nothing was happening.

More than that, she realized that something was happening. Her body was reacting, and not in a way that she wanted it to. She put her hand on top of the redhead's, and removed it from her stomach, as gently as she possibly could, and then began to pull her legs away, just as a wave of panic hit her. All the questions she had had earlier, having to do with Faith and Kennedy, or anyone, or anything else, vanished---They were all replaced with questions of why she was feeling what she was feeling. Or, better yet, what she was feeling in general.

She needed to leave the room, 'I can't be here,' her mind screamed. Her heart was pounding hard, so hard that she could hear it in her ears, and feel it in the palm of her hands, but her mind couldn't form a rational thought, anymore. Now, it was just telling her to run, and wasn't going to argue. There were no thoughts of where she would go. All she knew was that staying in that room would be too much. She needed to be somewhere else. To make herself calm down, somehow.

Before she knew it, she was in front of another door, not bothering to knock before entering the dark room, or bothering to try to be quiet as she closed the door behind her. When the lamp in the room turned on, the light making her eyes ache, she practically ran and sat down, "Dawn," she said, breathing heavily.

"What the hell, Buffy?" the brunette asked, pushing her messy hair out of her face. She was beyond frustrated with her sister bursting into her room, and even more frustrated by the fact that yet another person was in her room. That made her think of Remy, which made her frown, 'One more visitor,' echoed in her head, "Why are you in here?" Buffy just shook her head, "What does that mean?" was Dawn's next questioned, but her older sister simply shook her head again, "Okay…Well, then, can you please come back when you can actually talk, 'cause I'd prefer to get some actual sleep--No," she blurted, "do not shake your head, again."

"Fine," becoming aware of her lack of pants, she motioned for Dawn to hand her a pillow, and then put it in her lap. She was just uncomfortable in general. It wasn't like her and Dawn hadn't seen each other practically naked before. They were sisters--But, because of the fact that she was completely freaking out, because of her bodies reaction to her best friend, she couldn't help but be a little modest, "Okay," she finally said, "How do you know….how do you know if you like someone?"

Dawn moved back, thrown off by the question, "What?" she slant her eyes, "Did you just ask--What?" Buffy whined, mumbling inaudible words, and then nodded a few times, which confused Dawn even more, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing!" Buffy cleared her throat, "Nothing's wrong with me," she said, making sure not sound so jumpy, and nervous, "Look, Dawnie, I know that we're not really getting along right now, but I really really need you to just help me out here. Something happened, and now, I'm a little confused," that didn't even begin to explain her state of mind. Now being able to actually fully think about it, she realized that what she had felt--the warmth--had been familiar; she had felt it before, but she hoped that maybe she had just been tired. Maybe, she had been mistaken, and had just began to have some weird dream that had been fueled by Willow's accidental grouping, "How do you know when you like someone?" she asked, again.

"Well," she crossed her arms, "don't you just know?" the question wasn't one she was sure how to answer. It was like a child had come to her to ask all the questions a parent dreaded hearing, and answering, 'At least she's not asking about sex,' that thought horrified her, "You get butterflies…You think about them all the time…They make you more happy than anyone else you know…Anything that's wrong seems to fade away when you're with them…" she looked down, "You always want to be with them…Especially when nothing else seems to make sense…" her mind wandered for a moment, and they both sat silently. Both thinking about things--People. But, eventually, Dawn pulled herself out of it, "Why are you asking me this, Buffy?" her eyes went wide, "Oh my God, did you finally realize that you have feelings for Faith?"

"Ew. Tons and tons of ew, Dawn. No--Why would you even ask me that? I could puke. Right here, right now--Vomit."

"Please don't," just the thought of vomit made her a little queasy, "Really, don't," she warned, "I mean, come on, you've totally been riding her ass, lately. And the good ol' be mean to the ones you like…maybe you just didn't grow out of that one."

"Trust me when I say Faith is not the source of me being beyond confused right now. Actually, it might have been easier if she was," Dawn gave her an odd look, "Don't ask, please, 'cause then I might actually have to explain, and verbalizing this is not something I want to do at the moment."

Dawn nodded, understanding completely, "Maybe, since you're not even sure you like--whoever--then you don't like them. It could be that you're just a little confused, and everything that's going on has just thrown you for a loop. Usually, people don't have to wonder about these things, unless it's someone you've been friends with for a long time. That's when it usually gets a little hairy, because then you've already got your friendship feelings, and you love them 'cause they're your friend, so when something new appears it's like 'oh, what is this?' and it's hard to figure out…because…" there was a look on Buffy's face that made her babbling slow down, "they're your friend…Uh oh."

"Uh oh," Buffy said, matching her sisters childlike manner of saying it, "This isn't happening…"

"Oh, no, Buffy--" another thing Remy had said popped into her mind, 'she's gonna find herself somewhere she wouldn't expect to ever be, and at the worst time ever, to boot,' once again, Remy's words had somehow been accurate, "I'm guessing it's not Xander, 'cause he's hardly ever around, and Andrew isn't technically someone you call a friend…So…Willow?"

"I just don't get it," she stood up, throwing the pillow in her sister's general direction, "How can you just suddenly start liking someone? Especially someone you've known for so long? This isn't normal--And I don't mean that in the 'she's a she' kind of way, that's a whole other loop--I mean, it isn't normal to just suddenly start liking someone. One minute, I'm going to sleep, and the next--I'm feeling some weird things…very weird things…too weird. She's my best friend," she said, sadly, "I can't feel this way. I can't like my best friend."

"Sorry to tell you, but lots of people fall for their best friends--In fact, this proves that you're normal, after all," that hadn't come out the way she had meant it too, but because Buffy wasn't making anything out of it, she didn't either, "This is huge," she admitted, and it was. It was something she hadn't expected, at all, "Then again," she said, aloud, finishing her thought, "considering how you've been all overly protective, and….the way you look at her, sometimes…" various scenes began to appear in front of her. Scenes of coming to the main house, to get some of the clothes she had left, finding Buffy and Willow on the couch; her sister's arms wrapped around the redhead, who would be crying over 'the breakup'. She had always just figured that Buffy was comforting Willow, and that was probably what it actually was, but there was something about the way the slayer held the witch that now stood out, "I don't think it's as sudden as you think," she scooted to sit closer to the edge of the bed, "I think it's been slowly turning into something else for you, ever since Willow and Kennedy broke up. You've been spending practically every waking moment with Willow, being the friend that she needed most, but maybe…maybe it opened your eyes to something you hadn't seen before. Something within her that has made you realize something about yourself--I'm not saying you've secretly liked her since the dawn of time--"

"What's up with people saying that--"

"Because I don't think that's true," Dawn continued, ignoring her sister's words, "Somewhere along the line, things just changed, and it's up to you to figure out what exactly. Not to mention--What the hell are you gonna do about this?"

Buffy wrapped her arms around her waist, "I don't know…"

*****************************************

Shannon stood in front of the room she was staying in, "See, that wasn't so bad, now was it?" she asked, with a smile, "Look at all the great things I learned--There's so much drama around here, it's like depending on a bunch of confused teenagers to keep me safe. Wait, that's what I'm basically doing. Oh joy."

"Ha ha," Faith rolled her eyes, "Lucky for you, I don't give a shit about what you think of all of us. Plus, with your lack of being grateful, and you being so selfish, I'm thinking it's you that's stuck in their teenage years," they both laughed, slightly, "Now, see, you're just as useless as all the rest of us."

"I just don't broadcast my problems in the hallway, or anything like that. Gotta keep an image, you know," she held out her hand, "Till next time."

Faith shook the other woman's hand, "There won't be a next time. Be ready to give up that ten bucks, I could use another pack of cigarettes."

"Goodnight, Faith," she said, before walking into the room, closing the door without looking back, despite the fact that she could feel that Faith was watching her.

Once the door was closed, Faith turned towards her own, at the end of the hall, a thought lingering in the back of her head, that actually made her smile, 'That was weird,' she thought, as she walked into her room, taking off her jacket instantly. Her things were already in the room, thanks to one of the girls she had asked to take her things, so she didn't have to worry about tracking her stuff down in the morning, or having to sleep naked, which probably wasn't a good idea, 'Haven't been able to do that in a while,' she grabbed a pair of shorts, and a muscle shirt, to sleep in, 'I can't believe I'm back in this place. Never really thought this would happen,' even though she knew there would eventually be another big fight, she had not expected to have to relocate, at all. Then again, protecting ancient beings wasn't exactly something she had done before, 'Ancient beings with bad attitudes,' she added, mentally.

After opening the window in the room, and smoking a cigarette, her last one, quickly, she made her way over to the bed, frowning down at the unfamiliar bedspread. She had actually let herself get used to having her own room, and her own bed back at the other mansion, which was rare for her--Actually letting herself get comfortable with something being completely hers--But, of course, things had to change when she had least expected it to, or wanted it to, 'Oh well,' she thought, as she got into bed. It was comfortable enough, and she was definitely tired, but she found herself unable to sleep, which didn't surprise her at all. Something was missing, 'I've gotta get used to this.'

She forced herself to close her eyes, turning onto her side, hoping that she'd eventually fall asleep. Knowing that she had so much to do the next day, she knew that she'd definitely need as much rest as possible. Things were going to get hectic, chaotic, and tense. Going to bed was something that could eventually not even be an option, if things got really bad, 'Take advantage of this, it may be all you get,' her body began to relax, and the bed adjusted to her shape, as her breathing slowed, even though she was still awake. It was a good sign. A sign that she might actually fall asleep, despite the lack of having something to wrap her arms around.

However, hearing the doorknob turn, woke her completely. She turned so she wasn't facing the door, moving to the other side of the bed, as fast as she could, without looking suspicious as someone entered the room. Without looking, she knew who it was, "What's wrong, Kennedy?"

"I heard you out in the hall, and so…" she pulled the covers down, hesitantly laying down, "How was your walk?" she asked, "I didn't know Shannon went with you."

There was something that made hearing those words painful. She closed her eyes for a moment, a look of sadness covering her face, "Yeah, she, uh, she wanted to get some air, and going alone wasn't really an option, so I went with her. Sorry, I didn't think to tell you when you called," on the inside, she hit herself for apologizing--Apologizing as if she had some reason to tell Kennedy that she was with someone…Kennedy, however, didn't say anything else on the subject. In fact, she didn't say anything at all, but Faith was uncomfortable with the silence of the room. Most of all, if there was going to be silence, she wanted to be alone within it, instead of with the one person she needed to be away from, "What's going on?" she asked, "Why are you in here?"

"I couldn't sleep," she answered, honestly. After a moment, she continued, "I've been thinking about things--"

"Yeah?" she hated it, but she for some reason felt hope in that moment. As if maybe she was going to hear something that she unconsciously longed to hear, but no, that wasn't the case--

"I want her back," Kennedy whispered, "Being with her today just made me realize how much…I need her," she moved closer to her friend, and frowned, seeing that there was no response to what she was saying "Faith?" she said, unsure of whether the other slayer was listening, "Are you asleep?

Of course, she wasn't asleep at all. She turned over to face Kennedy, "No," she answered, simply. When Kennedy moved even closer to her, placing her head just beneath her chin, her forehead touching her shoulder, and placed an arm over her side, Faith struggled to stop herself from groaning in frustration. She tried not let her body enjoy the familiarity that she had come to know over the past months, but eventually, she found herself wrapping an arm around Kennedy, giving her a gentle squeeze.

"Will you help me?" Kennedy asked, as she began to shift.

Faith loosened her hold, letting Kennedy turn over, and move higher up on the pillows, so that the younger woman's back was pressed against her front. Once she saw that Kennedy was comfortable, she placed put her forehead against her back, and sighed, "Yeah, I'll help you get her back."

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Well…that's it. That's the chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. It was a little difficult to write in some areas, I will admit, but hopefully it shaped out pretty well. Next time--The training, and planning begins--Buffy, having realized that she has feeling for Willow, doesn't know how to act around her best friend anymore; Faith tries to keep herself together while Kennedy thinks of ways of getting back together with Willow; Dawn decides to go to school, but can't leave her home life behind; and Shannon shares a few thoughts. Thanks for reading, guys, and please forgive any typos…I'm sick, and tired, so I know there's a few I missed. Till next time-*ThomThom*


	5. Weird, How?

Hey guys…so so sorry about the wait. I don't know what the hell is going on here in la la land, but I'm really trying to push myself to start writing more. Uh, thanks to all of you who reviewed, I really really appreciate every single review I get, and I love that you guys are enjoying the story so much…yes, I wish I could update more too (missingviolet). Thanks to all of you for reading, signing up on the different lists, and all of that. You guys are my only driving force in the land of writing, so the more the marry. Alrighty, then, on with the show, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's a tiny bit long, so sit down, and relax…probably one of the longest chap so far. Thanks again. -*ThomThom*

P.S. change of plans maybe, on the 'next time on'--from last time-- 'cause I'm just sitting down and writing everything as it comes…hmm. Oh, and sorry for any typos.

Chapter Five: Weird, How?

Buffy knocked on the bathroom door, seeing that it was closed, and she could hear water running from the faucet. As long as she didn't hear shower water, there was a good chance that she'd be able to squeeze in with whoever was in there. If there would have been a group of girls in the restroom, the door would have been open, and there would have been lots of loud squealing voices--That was what she had encountered on her side of the house, while in search for a restroom. It didn't make sense to her that none of the superiors in the mansion had their own restrooms. She was going to have to put in a request with Giles for sure, 'Yep, as soon as I see him later, he's gonna--" the door opened, stopping her plans of complaining to the man, "Faith, hey."

Faith stood in the doorway, halfway leaning against it the door itself, with her eyes open lazily, "All the other bathrooms occupied?" she asked; her voice just as tired as her eyes.

"Yep," the blonde nodded, lifting her toothbrush slightly, "I guess you really do get up to train over at the other house," she had always assumed, seeing that Faith and Kennedy, who were not really morning people--at all, were in charge of the other mansion, that their training started later in the day. It wasn't that she thought they got lesser training. No, she knew that Kennedy probably worked the other girls to death, she just hadn't expected them to actually get up at the crack of dawn, "So, you almost through in there?"

"Not exactly, but there's two sinks. If you can promise not to give me any shit for the next say…ten minutes, I'll let you squeeze in," usually, she wasn't one to share her morning time in the bathroom with anyone else. Actually, at the other house, all the girls knew never to even come near her restroom in the mornings, but seeing that they all had a busy day ahead of them, and that Buffy wasn't some teen that would make a mess, she was willing to put her usual needs aside.

"There will no shit giving," Buffy assured the other slayer, before being let into the restroom. She closed the door behind them, so no one else would get the idea of trying to squeeze in, and then turned on the other faucet. Though she wasn't exactly comfortable at the moment, for some reason, she definitely wasn't going to rush, either. The idea of spending the first half of her morning, or possibly the first half of her entire day, with Willow sent a little bit of a sick feeling through her, after her discovery last night, 'Presto, I like my best friend,' she accidentally huffed out loud, catching the other slayer's attention, "Uh, forgot my toothpaste," she said, uneasily. Faith slid over hers, and continued to brush her own teeth. It was clear, in that moment, that she wasn't the only one with something on her mind. And considering that Faith seemed to be lacking some of her usual 'pizzazz', though somewhat understandable seeing that it was only seven something in the morning, she knew it had to be something of the also not so good sort, 'Wonder if it has anything to do with her and Kennedy.'

After spitting out the last bit of toothpaste in her mouth, and then rinsing her mouth out, Faith looked at Buffy out of the corner of her eye, noticing the bags underneath the blonde's eye, for the second time, "How'd you sleep?" she asked, simply to ask, "You look tired."

Buffy rinsed her mouth out, and then turned to Faith slightly, "Um, thanks," she turned to the cabinet behind them, to grab a towel to wash her face, "You need one?" she asked, and Faith nodded in return, so she grabbed one for herself, and one for the other slayer, before turning back to the mirror, "I slept fine," she finally answered, though not with an honest answer. After going to talk to Dawn the night before, she had decided that it would be best if she didn't sleep in Willow's room for the night, and ignoring Dawn's protest, she had slept in her sister's room--Or better yet, she had laid in bed next to her sister, while trying to keep herself from having a massive panic attack, "Just worried about this new baddy, I guess," another lie, "How about you? How'd you sleep?"

"Didn't get much of it, if you're wondering why my eyes are all droopy," it was an honest answer, but she was sure Buffy wanted to hear more than just that, "After getting all the girls settled last night, our new house guest decided that she wanted to go for a walk, and it was either let her go alone, or tag along, so…" she wiped her face with a warm towel, and sighed, "That woman's definitely got her own way of doing things."

"Hmm," after a moment, Buffy thought of something--Faith, though not her usual go to gal--her usual one wasn't one she could actually turn to at the moment…but, Faith was a very open minded person; very much into all things sex, no matter who with, so she couldn't help but wonder what exact thoughts the brunette would have on her most recent discovery. Not so much on the details of it involving Willow, or herself even, but it involving someone of the femalevariety in general, "Can I ask you something?"

"The fact that you're even asking me if you can ask me something, makes me want to say no," the slayer laughed, before grabbing something to put her hair up with, "But, seeing that you have stuck with not giving me any shit this morning, I'll say yes--As long as it ain't something weird."

Buffy frowned, "Define weird," she prompted.

"Well, considering that it's me you're talking too, it's gotta be something to the max…it may not even be possible. Uh, underwear advice…not really up for that one, but I doubt you're wanting info on that," she shook her head, "Just ask the damn question."

The problem with that, was the fact that Buffy wasn't exactly sure what she was going to ask. If she asked about a woman possibly liking another woman, it would lead to Faith thinking she was one of the women who was liking another woman, and that was not something that she wanted to be sent in her direction. However, she was still curious, "I think that, uh, maybe--That maybe…" she closed her eyes for a moment, mentally beating herself up for not being able to just come up with something, "That maybe Dawn likes girls," not exactly what she had planned, but it was close enough, 'I could work around this one.'

Faith laughed slightly, looking over at the blonde through the mirror, "Yeah?" she laughed again, "Well, hey, whatever gets you goin…but that's not really a question. Didn't really pay attention much in school, but I know a question when I hear one, and that was not a question."

"No, it wasn't, it was the introduction to my question, actually," she said, with a quick nod, "Have you ever, you know, liked a girl--or a woman--someone of the female sorts? And, I'm not just talking one night stand stuff. I mean, really liked. Like really…if that's even possible for you."

"So close to the no shit giving. So close," she gave the other slayer a look; a questioning look. Even if Dawn was into girls, she couldn't see why Buffy would be coming to her for any info on the subject, especially considering her usual 'get some and get gone' way of living. No, especially considering that they never really talked to each other about anything outside of the realm of slaying, "Sure," she answered, simply.

Buffy's brows rose, "Sure?" she asked, "That's it, just a sure?"

"It answered your question, didn't it?" Faith returned, with the same slight attitude she was receiving from Buffy, "What, you want some kind of other answer?"

"I was looking for something more…in-depth," the blonde shrugged, "You know, a little bit of a, uh…I don't know--Maybe an explanation of what it was like. Again, not the sex part. Not really into that much info--"

"Especially since your little sis might be into it--You've gotta face the facts that she's growing up, B. She's gonna start having sex, sooner or later, if she hasn't already," she saw Buffy shudder, "Man, I don't know what you're wanting here, but all I can tell you is I'm pretty sure it's the same way you'd feel when you fall for a guy, and I'm sure you know all about that--Vampire boy toys and all. It's all the same thing, just with different body parts. No biggie really."

Buffy took in the info, nodding occasionally, "Let's say that this is the first girl that Dawn likes. Like numero uno, completely new…a little weird, and way sudden."

"She's probably freaking out, then. I mean, I'm not the type to freak out, just 'cause I've never been the most closed minded of the bunch, but I could see why maybe Dawn would freak out--Hell, she freaks out when she starts liking a guy, so I can only imagine the loads of questions going through her head, now, but best advice I could give her is to not worry about it. A person is a person, don't matter what form they come in. If she likes girls, who gives a damn? Unless you're giving her a hard time," she insinuated, lifting a bow, but Buffy shook her head pretty quickly, "Then, you've just got to let her deal with it--And she's gonna have to deal with it, 'cause I don't think it's something you can run from, and still get a kick out of life," she frowned, "Maybe I'm not the one to talk to about this. I'd think Willow is the better option, seeing that she's the one that went through the slight freak out. From what I hear, of course, 'cause I wasn't exactly around to watch that whole thing play out."

"Uh, no," it came out a little louder than she had wanted, but even mentioning Willow with them actually talking about her, though Faith wasn't exactly giving her the type of advice she was looking for, almost sent Buffy into freak out mode, 'That could be my fault that,' she thought to herself, in terms of Faith not giving the type of advice she was looking for, 'since I'm not exactly being honest…at all,' she pulled herself out of her thoughts, "She didn't exactly come out and say it or anything, but she was kind of…"

"Hinting around it," she finished, "Probably not wanting it to get around just yet, then. Well, you know, it's something that she's gonna have to step up to the plate with. No running from shit like that. It only leads to issues. Depression, and shit like that. As if our lives aren't complicated enough--"

"Tell me about it," Buffy said, rolling her eyes, "So, what, you think that it's no big deal? Late appearance and all?"

"Again, look at Will. She was with Oz for how long? It just takes some longer than others. Better yet, it sometimes just takes the right person to really open your eyes up to things," those words brought her back to Kennedy, who she knew was still in her room, since she hadn't heard any doors open or close, "But, tell her to just be careful. Make sure she's ready, and stuff. I know that I'm saying go for it at the same time, but it's good to be a little cautious if she's actually really feeling something, for whoever. Make sure she's sure, and whatnot."

"Right," was that what she was going to have to do? Test the waters a bit, and make sure she wasn't just going through some moment of temporary insanity? Which, she only thought, because it was Willow that she was suddenly having feelings for, 'Survey says…possibly insane,' she thought of another possible way for Faith to maybe be helpful, "What if it's someone we know?"

Faith grinned, "That'd make things a bit interesting around here, for sure," she looked around a bit, and then back to Buffy, "You think it's me?"

"Ew, no," another thing she probably shouldn't have said so fast, "Not that you're not--" she stopped, making sure not to say anything even close to insinuating any kind of attractive aspects of the woman beside her, "I just don't think it's you. Could be someone we've been around for a while, though."

"Like one of the girls?" she frowned, "The teenyboppers don't seem all that interesting to me. Maybe except for Remy, but she's got that thing that kind of creeps you out sometimes."

"Definitely," Buffy nodded, "What if it is someone that has been around for a while, and she just suddenly started liking them. Like--BAM--it just hit her."

Faith took a moment to think about it, "Nah, I don't know about that. Maybe she's been in denial about it, or something, but I don't think it's just gonna suddenly jump out at her. If it's someone she's been friends with for a while, she just needs to backtrack a little. Think about that moment when things started to turn a bit…It ain't so easy to point to, though," another thing reminding her of her situation with Kennedy, "I'm sure if she's really trying to figure it out, she'll be able to spot it, eventually."

Buffy picked up her toothbrush, "Maybe," she said, before putting her hand on the doorknob, "Thanks for letting me squeeze in."

"No problem. Just try to beat the girls sometimes, 'cause I don't like to share my space all the time. You'll end up standing in line, next time," she warned.

With a smile, Buffy walked out of the restroom, a few teens passing her, as soon as she did, making her wait a moment, before turning to leave the hallway. However, just as she was about to head off, when the hall was quiet, and no one was in sight, Faith's bedroom--Which had been Faith's before, back when they all first moved in the area--door opened. Buffy moved quickly to stand slightly around the corner, so she wouldn't be seen, and that's when Kennedy made her way into the hallway, also being cautious. Buffy huffed, internally, 'Doesn't like to share her space…My ass!' once Kennedy had gone to her room, the blonde stepped out of her hiding place, looking towards the restroom, again, where she could hear Faith start the shower, which was odd in her opinion, seeing that training was to start in an hour, 'Unless…she didn't have time to shower last night, between her 'walk' with Shannon, and her 'sleepover' with Kennedy,' she shook her head, and then headed back to the other side of the mansion, still dreading her first part of the day.

**************************************

Shannon walked out one of the many backdoors in the mansion, wearing a light blue collared shirt, underneath a long sleeve darker blue sweater, her glasses, black dress pants, and, disproportioned to the rest of her outfit, black flip flops. She found herself standing on an extremely long porch, looking out at what seemed to be the outdoor training area. There was a track off in the distance, a pool, a few tennis courts, along with other types of courts, and there was the area most closest to the house, which was full of obvious extremely tiring training course--There were monkey bars, walls to climb over, things to climb under, and all sorts of things she could never see herself doing, just because of who, or better yet, what she was, 'All to save the lives of the ordinary,' she smiled, before sitting down on one of the chairs on the porch, just in time for Kennedy and Faith to bring the girls from some unseen area.

"Alright girls," Kennedy yelled loudly, getting the mass of girls to be quiet. Seeing that Buffy was out of the mansion, her and Faith also had to train with the girls that lived in the main house, which was beyond tiring, because it took twice as long to get anything done, "That's pretty much it for the day. I know that we didn't give much info on what's going on--Yes Remy?" she sighed, seeing the girl's hand raise.

"I was just wondering," she paused, "Is it lunch time, yet, 'cause I'm starved, and I'm really not up for a long speech right now. No disrespect to you, of course. I'm thinking you're about to say something in the realm of 'there will be a meeting later to explain everything that's going on' and you're probably about to turn it into some sort of lecture, so--"

"Remy, shut up," Faith interjected. She took the opportunity to take over the reins, "No lectures," she said, first, having sensed, just as Remy had guessed, that Kennedy had planned on going on and on, "Like smartass over there said, we'll be having a meeting later to fill all you guys in, but till then, yeah it's lunch time," all the girls started to head for the house, "But, first, we've got a quick question."

"Seeing that there's such a big group of you, we're thinking we're going to have to split you up, in order to make this a little easier, and to be more…specific, in what we're training for," Kennedy put her hands behind her back, "Okay, raise your hand if you think you're one of the top…" she looked to Faith.

"Ten," Faith said, after a moment.

"Raise your hand if you think you're one of the top ten girls we've got," out of all the girls in front of them, a hundred or so at least, about fifty of them raised their hand, "Remy, raise your hand," she said, rolling her eyes, "Okay, now obviously, we're looking for ten--Not fifty, so here's another question," once again, she looked to Faith.

Faith frowned. She had not expected so many of them to raise their hand, especially seeing that Kennedy pretty much outright said that they were in for the harder training, "If you've lasted sparing against any of us head slayers for more than an hour, keep your hands up," sadly, that lead to only about five hands still being held in the air, "Okay, if you've lasted for forty-five minutes," two more, "Thirty minutes," one more, "Okay I mean have any of you lasted without getting your asses handed to you, within the first fifteen minutes," two more, "Thank you," she said, frustrated with them all. Not only was it frustrating that none of them had really lasted sparing with any of the slayers 'in-charge', but also that all of the rest of them were obviously not even close to being up for whatever was coming, "Now, all of you who don't have your hand raised--Go inside."

"The rest of you," Kennedy said, making a point to glare in Remy's direction, "You're info session is going to be sped up to--Now. Seeing that we're up against something completely new," she paused, "and yet ancient--and something that we know pretty much nothing about, we've decided to choose a select few of you to be given the most training, along with it being the most difficult training, which, honestly, we have not completely thought out. You're the ones that we'll be taking out when things really get started, 'cause taking all of you is not an option, at all."

Seeing her opportunity, Shannon stood from her place on the porch, letting her hair down, as she did, and walked out into the backyard, towards Faith and Kennedy. She placed her hands in her pockets, and kept her head relatively high, "Hello," she shouted, getting all of their attention, though Faith and Kennedy had already been watching her, "It's a nice day, isn't it?" she looked up to the sky, seeing nothing but blue, as well as the sun shinning brightly above. Once she was in front of all the girls, facing them, and therefore with her back to Kennedy and Faith, she continued to speak, "Looks like rain, doesn't it?"

All of the girls seemed to frown at once, as all their heads turned to the sky. It was Remy, however, who actually responded to the question, "Um, no, it's looking pretty sunny to me."

"Well," Shannon walked up to Remy, noting that the teen was slightly taller than her--Not that it mattered, "You're wrong," she turned to walk back to the head of the group, "Or at least, in my opinion, you're wrong, and trust me when I say that it's my opinion that matters. Not Kennedy's, or Buffy's, or Faith's," saying the woman's name, she looked in Faith's direction to see the woman roll her eyes, "None of what they think matters, in terms of your progress over the next few weeks. I'm the one that says when you're ready to face what's coming--And, if I say you're not…obviously, you're not."

Remy raised her hand, slightly, "No offense lady--"

Shannon turned towards Faith and Kennedy, "I never knew the point of someone raising their hand, if they're not going to wait to be called on."

Kennedy walked up to the woman, leaning over towards her, "What are you doing?" she asked, slightly annoyed by the woman's interference of in their training time, "Not that I'm not into a little bit of intimidation, it's just that we're usually the ones who handle this sort of thing."

"There's no point in talking to her," Faith said, as she moved to stand in a more casual way, "Just let her say whatever she has to say. The sooner she says it, the sooner she shuts up."

"That's one way to put it," Shannon smiled, before looking to Kennedy, who simply nodded, and backed up, "Where was I--" she turned back to the girls, "Right, there was something about a thunderstorm," suddenly, there was a loud rumble above them, and a herd of dark clouds rolled into the once blue sky, blacking out the sun, with lightening searing through them, "My name," she shouted, just as the wind started to pick up, and it started to rain lightly, "is Shannon Owens. Say that, please," it began to rain harder, making some of the girls flinch, as the cold raindrops hit their exposed shoulders, just as they said her name all together, "Feel free to never to never say that name again, or even speak to me in general," she smiled, taking off her glasses, "I am what you're up against," she took a step, and the ground shook beneath them. As she had anticipated, all of them stumbled slightly, "I am the most powerful thing you will ever face," there was another loud crack above, "You have no chance in ever beating me…unless…" she paused, "I feel you're ready," again, she paused, just incase someone was wanting to interrupt her, but no one did, "Right now, you are pathetic. You're weak, you're stubborn, and some of you have no manners whatsoever--"

"And you do?" Faith whispered.

Though she heard Faith's question, she ignored it completely, and continued with what she was saying, "Over the next few weeks, these two women back there will not only be training you to fight--let's say…people like me--they will also be training at your side, because even they're not ready. Faith and I took a walk last night--Please withhold any oos or ahs--and it took her over an hour to figure out that the reason she was freezing her ass off was because I was slowly making the temperature drop. From now on, any temperature changes should not be taken so lightly, unless you all of a sudden want to burst into flame, or be turned into a block of ice. And, no, before anyone gets the guts to ask--I am not joking. You will be tested in all different types of weather, as well as different types of agricultural fields for the next few weeks, and every once in a while, I will be dropping by to make all of your lives that much more miserable," she flashed a quick smile, one with a hint of wickedness, "And, I'll be enjoying every single moment of it. You have been chosen not only to lead all of the rest of your miserable bunch, but to also be put through the most crap, and to be most likely to be killed pretty damn soon. But," she pulled her hands out of her pockets to reveal that they were slightly lit with fire, "if I think you're ready…I might put in some extra effort to make sure that doesn't happen--"

"Does that mean you're going to be an even bigger pain in the ass?" Remy boldly questioned, wiping the rain off of her face, "Because I'm opting for a less aggressive approach--More of a 'please, if I feed you, could you put your life on the line, for whatever fucking reason, to save my ass, which obviously needs saving, or I wouldn't be here'--Nice trick by the way…with your hands being on fire…while it's raining."

"Weak, stubborn, and apparently," she walked up to the teen, once again, "stupid. Very, very stupid. Your stupidity is somehow registering in your head as boldness, perhaps an ego of some sort that I don't give a damn about…you slayers, you're all just a ball of fun. All so powerful, while also being pathetic--"

Kennedy frowned, leaning over towards Faith, who she noticed was unaffected by the downpour of rain, "Why are we listening to this?" she asked, "I mean, yeah, she was all blunt yesterday too, but the good old 'you're pathetic' speech is more of a thing Buffy uses--and she's nicer with it, and usually doesn't point it the direction of all slayers in general."

"I'm only telling the truth," Shannon said, pointing one of her fingers towards her ears, lit and all. She laughed, "You've all just been living in this world where you think you can defeat anything, and everything, going on whatever clue you get from a book, or the internet, or whatever else you use--But nothing in those books can ever help you defeat me, and I am not part of some page on a screen…I am nothing you've ever heard of. Nothing you've ever seen. I could suffocate you in the blink of an eye. I could give you a glimpse of the hell you all fear so much--There is no time for any of this authority issue bullshit--Remy," she stressed, glaring in the teen's direction, "By the way, I will be giving some…private training sessions--"

"Did we know about those?" Kennedy questioned, once again talking to Faith.

"Uh, not so much," she answered, with a nod, "She seems to have this all worked out better than we do."

Shannon stared deep into Remy's eyes, "Guess who's first on my list," she walked around her, placing herself in a position to whisper something in the young slayer's ear, standing slightly behind her, "Tell me, do you like…snow?" without hesitation, she placed her hand on the girl's shoulder.

Remy leaned her head back, "See you soon," she smiled, before vanishing into thin air.

Kennedy stepped forward, "Uh, don't think that was part of the plan…" she noted that the rain started to slow, and then stopped all together, as she stepped forward, "I know she can be a pain, but the kid's just got this thing where she has to be weird all the time, and do exactly what you don't want her to do at the exact time you don't want her to do it most. We're all willing to help you, here, but things like this, that'll make us change our minds pretty quickly."

Faith reached behind her head, squeezing her hair out, "Shannon, stop with the bullshit and bring the girl back. That's enough with the 'scare them' routine."

She gave the woman a once over, "You owe me a walk, later," after a moment, she started to head back inside, looking up at the sky as she did, "Looks like it's going to be a nice day after all. The sun is shinning, the birds are singing…"

"Shannon!" Faith yelled, but the woman continued to walk, as if hearing nothing, until she was inside the mansion, leaving everyone outside soaked, and unsure of what had just happened. Though not feeling that Remy's life was in danger, Faith could see that the woman had no respect at all for the way things worked at the mansion--Hell, she hadn't even been there long enough to know anything about their routines, or just how ready they were. Yet, there she was, walking out into the middle of everything, saying they're all pathetic, and making people disappear, "I think she's a bit psychotic," the slayer mumbled.

Kennedy, baffled by the whole situation, waved the girls off--each of them walked inside griping about how cold they were, as well as mumbling that the new woman of the house was a crazy bitch--so she could talk to Faith alone, "So, I'm thinking we're really going to have to have a talk with her, about how we do things around here. And, I don't think my usual approach to things--"

"The in your face, bow down to my commands approach?" Faith questioned.

"Exactly--I don't think that'll do me any good with her...especially seeing that she just used it out here. But, we can't just have her going around making people disappear, and possibly giving all of us a cold before we even get things started," as Faith had earlier, she moved to squeeze out her locks, frustrated by the amount of water that flowed down her already soaked shoulders, "Maybe you and Buffy were right about keeping a good guard up against her--More of a guard, I mean. I don't want to have to be my usual aggressive self…"

"Nah," Faith shook her head, "She's just the type that has to show just how tough she is, so no one will test her. Kind of like--You, really. I mean, come on. First, she's walking out of fire, now she's creating thunderstorms, and sending people off to God knows where. She's showing off. Putting a little fear in them. And, hey, maybe it'll do them some good," what was disconcerting however, was the fact that Shannon had been so sure of herself, in every word she spoke. There hadn't been a moment where the woman seemed to stammer, or not truly mean what she was saying, 'Are we up against something that big?' she wondered, but she knew the answer to that question already. She just wondered how big was 'that big'.

Nodding, Kennedy started to walk towards the house, knowing that Faith would follow suit, "You don't think she like--Remy's…"

"I'm sure she's fine," she paused, "I'll ask the selfish one about it, though, just to ease our nerves a bit. Give her a bit of attitude about how she's acting. That kid's gonna have to learn one day, though--Sometimes it's best to just keep your mouth shut. Hey, that's another lesson you had to learn," she laughed, wrapping her arm around the younger slayer's shoulders, "I have a feeling we'll all be up for a few lessons over the next couple weeks," she felt sure of that.

**************************************

Buffy rolled her eyes, holding her phone up to her ear, "Are you serious?" she asked, glancing up at the grey clouds passing above. She looked over to Willow, who was standing a few feet off, in front of the café they were heading into, right before the sky suddenly went all gloom, and doom, "She can't just--I know that you know--" Faith, who was at the other end of the phone, continued to interrupt her, trying to tell her that there was nothing to worry about, at all, "Hello, she made Remy disappear. I think we're just going to head home," a few more words from the brunette slayer, and then the line was dropped, surprising the blonde. She stuffed the phone into her jean pockets, and walked back over to Willow.

The redhead gave a slight smile, sensing her best friend's frustration, "I'm guessing the sudden downpour was of the supernatural variety," as they had been walking, Willow had felt a shift, just before the grey clouds had started to roll above their heads, but it was something she had not been able to completely grasp--It was a kind of power that was so unfamiliar to her, which she thought was strange, now knowing that the weather change was probably caused by one of the newly discovered…whatever Shannon was…Surely, seeing that Giles had said that the woman's kind had always been the source of all the elements, the storm should have felt just like any other storm. But, it hadn't, "What'd she say?"

Opening the café door, letting Willow go in first, Buffy sighed, "Apparently, our new house guest decided to show just how tough she, thus explaining the not so clear sky above. Faith says that she thought it had only happened there, but when she asked Shannon about it, Shannon said that she thought she'd let it just roll on through--That we could use a little rain," she started to pout, slightly, just as they sat down at a table, "There goes my tamed hair," her friend laughed, flashing a bright smile, with a sparkle in her eye, 'Wow,' the slayer thought, not noticing that her mouth was open slightly, 'she's so beautiful.'

It hadn't been the only moment of the day that Willow had noticed Buffy staring at her oddly, and this time, she had decided to question her long time friend, "You okay?" she asked, "You've been a little…weird today."

'Weird,' Buffy thought, huffing internally, 'That doesn't even begin to explain today.' All throughout the day, Buffy had been stumbling and stuttering while following the witch around on her errands--A few herbs here, a few candles there, oh and there's a tripping Buffy over there…please, everyone stare--There had been some kind of disaster, it seemed to her, every few minutes; when Willow would laugh, or say something quirky, or link their arms together, 'Butterflies, butterflies, and more butterflies…oh no, she's waiting for me to say something,' swallowing hard, Buffy forced herself to laugh, "Weird? Weird how?" she asked.

"Well," with a slight shrug, Willow gestured to the slayer's spastically moving leg--

"Oh," she honestly hadn't noticed her foots repeating motion of up and down--an obvious sign of nervousness--but she made it stop, immediately, "It's nothing," she waved a hand, "I'm just, you know," the redhead's brows rose, making her a bit more nervous; unable to really think of anything to say that would explain her behavior, "People do that sometimes…while sitting--Hey, maybe I just have to pee--" 'What the hell--?'

"Do you have to pee?" Willow asked, slowly, eyeing her friend carefully, "Buffy--"

"As a matter of fact," she stood up, "I do," with her lie still being questioned within her own head, Buffy headed turned to head towards the restroom, "I'll be right back," she added, quickly, before walking off. She could hear Willow say that she'd get them something to drink, as she walked off, but it only made her walk faster, instead of turning around to say thank you, or telling Willow what she wanted. She needed a bit of time…time to think--Time to keep herself from saying things like, 'Maybe I just have to pee? Really, 'cause nothing else, absolutely nothing else could have possibly been said in that moment,' walking into the restroom, happy to see that no one else was in there, she walked over to the sink, splashing a bit of water on her face, 'It doesn't make sense,' she thought, 'It's not like I've never hung out with Willow before--She's Willow. Good old Willow. Beautiful nice Willow…which is something I would so normally say,' after taking a deep breath, and repeatedly telling herself that nothing had really changed, she dried her hands, and prepared herself for her going back out to where she knew the other woman would be waiting, 'All worried, and Willow like.'

Seeing her friend on the way back, Willow sat up straighter in her chair, pushing one of the mugs, a yellow one, closer to Buffy's side of the table, "Wasn't sure what you wanted, so I got you some tea, since you seem a little on edge," she smiled.

Buffy sat down, and then scooted her chair forward, "Tea sounds great," she said, moving her legs, to cross them, and hopefully prevent herself from bouncing them, one of her legs accidentally rubbed against Willow, and she jumped suddenly, making her cup of tea tip over, "Oh," she jumped up, and in slow motion, she could see the tea traveling in Willow's direction; the liquid moving around the mug in front of the redhead, and onto the other woman's skirt, "Oh God," Buffy said, putting her hand over her mouth.

Willow scooted her chair back as fast as she could, so the whole cup wouldn't land in her lap, "Hot--Very hot."

In a panic, Buffy put her hands on the table, trying to push the liquid away from her best friend, "I am so sorry, I didn't mean to--"

"Napkins, Buffy," she interjected, "Use napkins."

"Right," not even paying attention to how many she grabbed, Buffy pulled napkin after napkin, until her both of her hands were practically full, and then started wiping the table, frantically, "Will--I am so sorry," she pat the table down, moving across it as fast as she could, and then, without thinking, she reached and started to pat Willow's lap--After a moment, she realized what she was doing, and stopped, "You could probably do…that…yourself…"

Seeing the whole incident, one of the workers walked up to the two woman, pulling a towel from his apron, "Let me help," he said, "My towel would probably be more helpful," with a smile, he handed the towel to Willow--who was not even sure what to say in that moment-- "These damn tables just don't have enough room underneath them," the young man, laughed.

Buffy laughed nervously, "Nope."

"Thank you," Willow finally said, standing up to examine the spot covering most of her lap, "Usually I'm the one that's on the klutzy side of things," she glanced over at Buffy, giving her an odd look.

"It happens all the time, really. I've been telling Megan, the owner, that she should invest in bigger, higher up tables," he received his towel from Willow, and then stuck out his free hand, "My name's Dave, by the way," he said, shaking the redhead's hand.

"Willow," the witch said, with a nod.

Next, he shook Buffy's hand, and she managed to mumble her name, but he was speaking again before either of them knew it, "I've seen you two in here a lot these days. I'm hoping that it means that I've become an expert tea brewer. Though, you tossing it on your friend might mean the opposite for me," he laughed, prompting the too women to laugh oddly, "That was my attempt at a joke, which I can see was an epic fail."

Neither Buffy nor Willow knew what to say to the man. They hadn't expected him to start a whole conversation with them, so they were sort of thrown off by his comfortably--More thrown off then they already were that was. Buffy, who was completely ignoring Dave--who was still talking--rubbed her forehead, covering her eyes slightly, as she tried to hide how embarrassed she was, but she knew that her cheeks had to have already turned red, and she probably looked like someone had just jumped out at her--Hints the fact that she was rubbing her forehead, and trying to calm herself down, to at least appear normal.

"Anyways," Dave continued, "My buddy Gary and I are going out tonight--And, I know this is weird of me, but maybe you two would like to hang out with us. We're just going to this little place up the street, really. We'll buy--"

"What?" there went her trying to look normal. Buffy looked to Willow, who also looked a little confused, but was blushing slightly, while looking around at the same time, 'Damn mixed signals…'

"Um," Willow managed, looking directly at Dave, "I'm gay, so--"

"Oh," his brows went up. He would have been lying if he said he wasn't shocked--and, he'd also seem like an ass, so he made sure to cut his shocked expression short, "You're gay," he looked between the two of them, "You're…together…"

"No," Buffy exclaimed, before clearing her throat, and quieting her voice, "I mean, yes, we came together," she shook her head, "Here, together, but we're not together together we're just here together, she's gay."

"Yep," Willow nodded, "I'm gay," her and Buffy were going to have a serious talk later for sure, with how the slayer was acting, "She's not."

"I'm not," the slayer repeated.

Dave nodded, "Hmm," he looked to Buffy, "Well, how about you, then? Forget Gary--I was just trying to act like I've got this all planned out, when really I was going to invite the two of you out, so you--Buffy--wouldn't think of having to be alone with some weird person…so Gary, who I think is married, now…would have been with your friend, here--Your gay friend--And, I'm completely weird, and creepy, I know. How about, I just give you my phone number, and maybe you'll find some humor in all of my dork qualities, and then decide to maybe give me a call sometime," he looked to Willow, "I have lady friends, too," he paused, "That was me attempting another joke, there…" he wrote his number on a napkin--the last dry one at the table, actually--and handed it to Buffy, "I'm gonna just go…brew."

Buffy watched the man walk away, blinking hard, with a frown on her face, "I think this is one of the weirdest days I've ever had in my life."

"I could agree with that, maybe," she looked at the mess on the table, "Yeah," both of them moved to grab the wet napkins, after Buffy put the napkin with Dave's phone number in her pocket, but Dave shouted that he would get it, so both of them stopped in their tracks. Willow looked to Buffy, "Home?" she asked.

Buffy nodded, "Yes, please," they both headed toward the door, Dave waving bye as they left, and them waving back.

-- TO BE CONTINUED--

Sorry to do this, but I'm going to have to make this a two part thing. I know some things happened, but at the same time, nothing happened--However, I'm not having much time to type lately, so I'm giving you guys this little piece, while hoping that I'll be able to get the rest of it done in the next couple days. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the little bit here. In part two--Dawn finds that she can't run from the reality of things; the meeting at the mansion begins; Kennedy asks Faith for a favor, which earns a few comments from Shannon; and Buffy tries to settle into her new feelings, while still questioning them. Hmm, yep, hope that will be up soon…Thanks so much for reading. Let me know what you think. -*ThomThom*


	6. A QUICK NOTE AN

Hey there--Alrighty, I really hate doing these types of things….seriously irks me, but here I am--Doing it. What am I doing, you ask? Well, okay, so on all the previous chapters, there has been at least four reviews, and so I must admit I was shocked/thrown off when I got absolutely no reviews on chapter five. Okay, so here is what I'm going to do--I am requesting that if anyone had any complaints about the last one I posted that they voice their opinion. No worries, I promise I am good with criticism, so to all of you who usually review, and for anyone that has a few words (of worry, complaint, confusion, or whatever), please feel free to tell me when you're unhappy with something. I for one would like for me to focus on the main two characters more, having more important scenes, and to take the situation a little bit more seriously (which, yes, I am working on), so if any of you have any questions, complaints, or suggestions (though, I must worn you that I'm not one to really completely go and straight up use suggestions, because I don't see the point in writing a story that someone specifically wants to hear--Suggestions as in, be more serious, or tell more jokes, or use that character less maybe), feel free to send them my way. In fact, I ask you to send them my way, 'cause I'm starting the next chapter, and I would prefer not to end up completely blowing this thing out of the water. Alrighty, well, like I said…hate doing these types of things, but every writer needs a bit of criticism, and we must be open to it, so thanks for reading, and please feel free to send me whatever you've got on your mind--My review box is not just for compliments--*ThomThom*


	7. EXPLANATION AN

Hey guys….I know it's been a while, and I'm really sorry about that, it's really frustrating me, too. Anyways, I've got some stuff going on right now, and so I won't be able to write for a little while longer. Some family emergency/emotional crap that I'm dealing with, and it's really making it impossible for me to write. Uh, hopefully, whenever I get back to writing, all of you will still be wanting to read. And, I hope to have a huge package to post, whenever I do get back. Thanks for reading. I hope the wait won't be too long, but I'm not sure yet. -*ThomThom*


	8. Weird, How? Pt 2Time to Get the Ball R

Hey, hey…alright, well here I am--Finally, here I am. Okay, so this chapter, I figured had to be a little extensive, so I could get past all the talking….as requested. Not sure how there wouldn't be a lot of talking, but I've got the ball rolling for sure now. And, I've been thinking of possible endings, which is always good, 'cause that means that I may actually finish the story…Yay!! Um, thanks to everyone of you who's been reviewing, I love all the reviews, so yeah--Thanks. Hope everyone enjoys the chapter, and feels magically compelled to review. Thanks again--*ThomThom*

Chapter Six: Weird, How? Pt. 2/Time to Get the Ball Rolling

She needed to remain calm--That's what she knew for sure…and that was pretty much all she knew. There was no room for knocking coffee over, or to awkwardly be asked out on a date, though that wasn't the most terrible--No, that was not important. It was important that she remained calm, because remaining calm came with rational thought, and rational thought came with fewer tragic accidents. And fewer tragic accidents…

"Hey, Buffy, why don't we set some food out for the girls, so they'll have something to munch on during the meeting," Willow suggested, as she walked into the kitchen. Seeing Buffy leaning against one of the counter tops, seeming deep in thought, Willow hesitated in her steps, "Are…you…okay?" she asked, with genuine concern.

'There goes my calm theory,' she cleared her throat, moving to walk away from the counter, "Uh, yeah, I'm great," maybe lying would become her new hobby--It did make her feel a little better, 'Lie to myself, lie to the people around me…maybe it'll magically turn into the truth. All poof like…wait haven't I tried this before?' noticing that Willow was looking at her strangely, she pushed her hands deep into her jean pockets, "Food, you said something about food."

Willow went over to their extremely large walk-in pantry, to grab a few bags of chips, "I'm thinking sandwich and chips for everyone."

"Oh, well, we can get Andrew to make all the sandwiches, while we just become ultimate expert chip into bowel pourers," she frowned, 'What the hell am I talking about?' just as she huffed at her words, the redhead walked out of the closet, with a slight grin, which made Buffy laugh nervously.

"What, you don't think I can make a few sandwiches?" her eyes narrowed, "I'll have you know that I've been known to make an excellent sandwich during early hours of the morning, when food becomes an absolute necessity, due to lots and lots of tummy rumbling. Which," she paused, walking over to the counter closest to Buffy, where she opened the bags of chips, and then grabbed a few bowels to pour them in, "Which, you would have heard for sure, if you would have been in the room last night," from her understanding, her and her best friend had been made official roomies, while there was yet another impending doom afoot, so when she woke up to find only herself in the room, she had been a little confused, "That is, unless my stomach rumbling was not only limited to being extremely loud while I was awake."

There had not been any growling stomachs when she had been in the room, that's for sure, "Actually," a smile played across her face, as she began to assist Willow in the chip pouring, "your stomach growled so loud that I thought there was a giant monster outside…so, I had to run out and try to save the world. Same old, same old," she shrugged.

Willow laughed, swatting her friend on the arm, "Hey. It wasn't that bad."

"No," Buffy looked over at the redhead, watching her laugh, for a moment, "not at all," she opened another bag of chips, "It was worse," Willow hit her again, "I thought I was already a goner," once they were both done laughing, she spoke again, "No, I just got done with everything really late, so I thought it'd be better not to wake you."

"Well, I woke up, anyways," after a moment of silence, in which both of them just stared at each other, thinking of the night before, she tapped the side of the bowel in front of her, "I think we're gonna need more chips.

"Okay," the blonde said, softly, as she watched her friend walk back into the pantry, immediately hearing the sound of crinkling bags. It was funny, she could never find her way through that pantry, at all. Whatever wasn't right in front, would never be found, if she were sent to look for it. With that thought, she turned her head towards the entryway, "Hey Andrew…"

****************************************

Dawn tapped her pencil on the desk, frustrated with herself, entirely. She had done it--She had woken up that morning, and decided that she was the one that was going to say what she could and couldn't do. She was going to be the one who controlled when she came and went. After all the studying she had done day after day, there was no way she was going to miss a major test in the class she desperately needed to pass. No way in hell--Oddly enough, though she made it to the school on time, when the test was laid in front of her, she almost fell out of her desk, into a crazed panic attack.

'I cannot believe I studied the wrong damn chapters,' she huffed aloud, which earned her a few shushes from other people in the class. Really, she wanted to turn around and glare at whoever had shushed her, but it would only earn her a guaranteed zero, seeing that her professor was staring directly at her, with his glasses lower on his nose, 'Old guys are so weird,' that was her conclusion and she was sticking to it. It took her a moment to realize that the old man was not staring at her, at all, but when she did, she tried to carefully glance over her shoulder, without getting the man's attention. Luckily, who the man was looking at sat beside the desk behind her, which was higher up, thanks to the stadium seating of the room.

There was a young woman there, who was glancing around repeatedly, occasionally lifting one of her hands to her ears, pushing against it, roughly. From what Dawn could see, the dark haired girl had dark green eyes, which immediately caught her attention, but before she could wonder why, she heard the sound of thunder. Everyone in the room jumped, each of them taking in a sudden breath, and then the room fell silent again. After making sure that her professor had not seen her not staring only at her test, Dawn glanced back over at the strange girl, who seemed to be even more nervous. Sure, Dawn had freaked out when she had seen that she had studied the wrong chapters, but she just knew that whatever case of nerves that she herself had had, was nothing compared to the black haired girl's. She seemed to be shaking, even.

Just as she finally decided to ask if something was wrong, or if the girl was okay, suddenly the girl rose, grabbing a jacket from around the back of her seat, and left the room. Everyone watched as she marched up the stairs, and out of the class, as the professor yelled that if she left there was no way she'd pass his class at all, but the girl didn't even seem to hear him. She just walked out, never even looking back. As Dawn went to turn back around, though for no real reason, since there was no way she was going to pass that test, she noticed something on top of the now empty desk, cattycornered to her own.

'Is that…?' reaching slowly, she placed her hand on the desk, and just as she had thought, there was a thin layer of water covering it's surface, 'Now unless this girl has some special talents, or there's a whole in the roof…' Dawn turned back to her test and went through it as quickly as she could, mostly circling random answers, when she couldn't even understand one part of the problem, then she stood up, and walked out of the classroom, ignoring the professor saying that there's no way no one could finish that fast, and pass his class, 'I guess Kennedy was right. There is no way I can live an ordinary life, knowing the things that I know. Not ever.'

**************************************

"How in the hell did we end up with chair duty?" Faith questioned, as she unfolded yet another chair, and placed it near the back of the rather large living room, "I mean, what the hell?" she glanced over at Kennedy, who was doing exactly what she was doing, except with an amused smile, "You think this if funny. Of course you do."

"No, I think it's funny that a slayer is complaining about putting out some chairs," she put her chair down, and walked to get another one, patting Faith on the back, as she went, "What, your back starting to hurt or something? Old age starting to surface?" it wasn't often that she teased her best friend about being a couple years older than her, but at moments like these, she just couldn't help herself. A slayer, complaining about putting out three pound chairs…it just seemed ridiculous, "No worries, old woman," her friend shot her a look, "I'll have the younger ones put the chairs up, later. Give your back a little rest."

"Trust me, there is no problem with this back," as usual, she felt the need to justify that her body was in perfect shape by using some kind of sexual innuendo--Which was ironic since she hadn't had sex in…"So, how long is this thing gonna be, you think? 'Cause I'm thinking maybe I want to go out tonight," really, she didn't want to go out at all, but considering all the things that were going on, meaning the move back into the main mansion, which she knew would mean that she needed to separate herself from her best friend, as Shannon had so nicely pointed out--She needed to get out more.

Kennedy shrugged, "Who knows how long this will go on. I mean, we'll have Giles talking, which by itself will take forever, and then we have Shannon, who obviously likes to hear herself talk," for a moment, she thought about Remy, and glanced over at Faith to ask her if she was wondering about the girl too, but seeing the expression on Faith's face, she didn't even need to ask, "So, when do you think she'll bring her back from…wherever it is she sent her?"

"Well, if I'm thinking right, I'd guess she'll bring her back tonight while everyone's around to be an audience," if there was one thing she understood was the need to show one's strength. She had gone through that whole thing back in the day, though through more dangerous actions--not that she knew exactly what Shannon did to Remy--so she knew that the woman would probably want to show off just a little bit more to get her point across, "I'm sure she's not gonna make the whole thing permanent, or anything like that," she shrugged.

"Right," Kennedy nodded, "Anyways, what is this about you wanting to go out tonight?" considering Faith's lack of going out over the past months, it threw Kennedy by surprise to hear that come from her best friends mouth. It wasn't that she hadn't known Faith to go out before, but it just seemed like the woman had just calmed down…extremely down to the point of hardly ever leaving the house, "There an itch you need to scratch?" her brows rose.

"Maybe there is," she answered, nonchalantly. Sure, there was an itch, but it wasn't really the kind she was used to feeling. It wasn't all just about the lust, or the rush, or the thrill--There was something else behind it. Something that she knew she couldn't have. Things were moving so fast, it seemed. Just after being in the house for a night, she already had her best friend, who she had feelings for, telling her that she wanted to get back with her ex, and a perfect stranger telling her that she needed to move on. It was evident that she needed to move on, completely evident, but the thought of it wasn't one that brought a smile to her face. The thought of not being as close to Kennedy was one that made her insides turn; one that made her ache in places where she hadn't felt much before, "Just thinking that maybe it's time to get out more, is all."

"Yeah?" Kennedy, asked, slowing her motions for a moment.

There was something within the younger woman's voice that made Faith stop what she was doing, glancing over at the other brunette, with a slight frown on her face, and a longing for a stream of hopeful words. It was as if there was undertone of sadness. A curious sadness that made both of them stop and wonder. What she didn't know, however, was if they were wondering about the same thing. The thought of both of them having the same thought in that instant almost made her want to just run over to Kennedy; to take a chance and see what would happen. What could happen.

Kennedy looked over at Faith, their eyes meeting, and both of them were silent for a moment longer. Just thinking, and wondering what the other one was thinking. Then, Kennedy cleared her throat, and began to move again, "Hey, why don't you take Buffy with you?"

"What?" if she would have been running, she would have suddenly fallen. If she would have been drinking something, it would have spewed from her mouth. Luckily for the both of them, she was doing neither, "Why would I take Buffy with me, if I go out tonight? Take Miss-I've-Gotta-Stick-Up-My-Ass out…with me…later tonight? You're joking, right?" yeah, if they had been thinking the same thing before, she sure as hell couldn't see it anymore.

At first, she thought of some lie she might tell. Something about thinking that Buffy needed some time outside of the house, to relax, or something. But, then again, it wasn't like she usually ever considered Buffy's state of mind that often, "Remember how I asked you if you'd help me…" she didn't want to finish the sentence for some reason, and Faith seemed to sense that and simply nodded for her to go on, "Well, Buffy's kind of been joined to her hip lately, so maybe you could help me out tonight," she grabbed a few more chairs to put out, uncomfortable with just standing still, "I got up in the middle of the night, and went into the kitchen, I don't even remember why now, but she was in there making her a sandwich," she laughed, slightly, "It was awkward talking to her when it hadn't been planned, like the whole setting up the rooms together, but it just made me realize that I can't--"

"I'll take B out of the picture," she had wondered where Kennedy had gone in the middle of the night, waking her from her sleep as she moved out of her arms, but had just thought that the other woman had gone to the restroom. Sure, she had worried when it had taken her quite a long amount of time to get back to the room, but once she had come back, she immediately stopped questioning. And, Kennedy had not said anything as to why she had been gone for so long. She had simply laid back down, and pulled Faith's arm back around her, a little bit tighter than before. That, however, didn't seem as comforting as it had been last night, in Faith's mind, "Though me asking B to hangout…well, it'll look a little suspicious, seeing that her and I aren't the best of friends."

"Despite you guys' whole talking shit to one another, you mind as well admit that you don't hate each other. You just clash a little bit," she heard Faith huff, "Okay, so you clash big time, but seriously--You know you're both on good terms with each other. Maybe it'll be fun."

"Or, you know, maybe it won't be fun, and it will defeat the whole purpose of me going out," there was no way that could happen, because even if Buffy went, the whole purpose was to not be around Kennedy, so there was no threat against that task, "But, whatever. I'll take care of it…even if I have to trick her into thinking we're going out patrolling, or something like that."

Kennedy smiled, "Thanks, Faith, I really appreciate it. It's just that--"

"Hey," she interjected, "What are best friends for?" that's all they were, anyways.

***************************************

Dawn hurried down the sidewalk, cursing the fact that she had parked so far away from the building she was testing in that afternoon. Actually, she had no clue where she had even parked, because she had been in such a rush to get to the test on time. She had simply parked, ran inside one of the building, which had been the wrong one, and asked somebody to tell her which way to go. Yeah, her whole do whatever she wants thing…it wasn't going too well. But, she could see the mistakes she made at least, 'One, always remember where you park. Two, always double check which chapters you're supposed to study before taking a test. Three--Always remember where you park the car! Especially when there's a possibility of making a major discovery…' her thoughts were suddenly interrupted, by a figure popping up in front of her, almost seeming to come out of thin air…'Oh, wait..'

"Are you following me?" it was the girl that had been in Dawn's class, and now that she was directly in front of Dawn, Dawn was able to get a better look at the girl. She had dark brown hair, which she had already seen, along with her dark green eyes, slightly pale skin, and a scar on the left side of her neck--One that looked like a knife had slid across it. Just as they had been in the classroom, the girls eyes were constantly moving; shifting from Dawn, to past Dawn, and then left and right, "Are you following me?" she asked again, aggressively. Her voice was raspy, as if someone were slowing squeezing her throat closed, "I don't know who you are, or what you want, but--"

"I'm not following you," the sudden appearance of the girl had paralyzed her; frightened her more than most things she had ever seen had. Maybe, it was because of the crazed look of the girl, and her pale skin. Thinking over the past months in the class they seemed to share, Dawn could not recall ever seeing the girl, at all, "I'm just looking for my car," her eyes wondered across the girl, again, searching for some kind of familiarity, but there was nothing. Not even her sense of style stood out, but that's because it only one that wouldn't stick out; a long-sleeved black shirt, with some light blue jeans, "I wasn't following you," for some reason, she said that again.

The girl stood still for an instant, staring directly at Dawn, and then began to look around again, this time seeming to move her whole body slightly, "You sure?"

Dawn couldn't help but let out a small laugh, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure," there was silence for a moment, "Are you okay?" it was a question that needed to be asked, because it was obvious that something was putting the girl on edge. If she were the average person, Dawn would have assumed the girl was on drugs, but seeing that she wasn't the average person, she sensed that something else entirely was going on with the girl in front of her.

"I'm fine," she blurted, before leaning to the right to look past Dawn again, "S-Sorry for bothering you."

Just as the stranger turned to walk away, Dawn reached her hand out to grab her arm, stopping short just before touching it, since the green eyed girl turned around--As if she had felt the hand on her arm, before it had reached it, "Just then," Dawn began, feeling a strong sense of boldness growing within her, "when you just--you appeared out of thin air, didn't you? Like--"

"No, you just didn't see me, I came from behind that--" the girl began to defend herself; hide from the truth of the matter, but Dawn wasn't having it. Not at all.

"You didn't come from behind anywhere--You appeared out of thin air…literally," once again, she looked at the girl's eyes, and realized that the familiarity wasn't just a coincidence. The girl in front of her was no ordinary girl…she was probably not even human, "You're one of those element things," she saw fear appear in the girl's eyes, as they went wide, "Oh, no, don't freak out--Uh, don't disappear, or anything like that. I'm not evil, or anything…I'm good."

"In my world, good is just as bad as evil," the girl retorted.

"Hmm," her mind stopped to think about what the girl had said, "Well, here, I can't really comprehend that…" honestly, she couldn't, really. But she did remember Shannon saying something about good and evil using the elements to fight each other, "I'm uh--"

Her eyes narrowed, and stopped moving about, focusing solely on the girl in front of her, who seemed to know more about who, or better yet, what she was, "Who are you?" she questioned, putting up her defenses, "Did Marcus send you? Does he have humans working for him now, too? You tell him that I will never, ever, as long as I live bow down to him."

"I don't work for anybody," Dawn declared, "I'm Buffy Summers' sister. Buffy the, er, a vampire slayer," somehow, having to define who she was by means of bringing up her sister did not make happy at all. Did she have no title, or identity of her own that people would recognize.

"The key."

'Not exactly what I was looking for,' after rolling her eyes, she nodded, "Yep, that's me. Rhyming unintended, and instantly regretted. Look, I'm not gonna try to hurt you--"

"Not that you could--"

"Not that I could," she agreed, knowing that it was true. Apparently, being one of these element things came with a huge ego. But, was it still considered to be an ego thing, when really it was backed by the fact that there was no way Dawn could hurt her? "I just, I know someone who's--well, she's like you, so maybe the two of you could help each other out. Or, maybe, we could help you, 'cause you seem a little…You seem like you need help, and since helping is kind of our whole life purpose," there was an undertone of bitterness, which brought her to the thought of not being able to have a single ordinary day, "we could help. I don't know all the details on how this whole calling home, killing, or other, thing works, but I'm sure that Shannon--" that was a name she hadn't meant to say, but the girl didn't seem to react. There was no shock, or curiosity; no anger, or threatening glare. Her expression was blank, and it was a little frightening.

She shook her head, "No, I'm fine. Thank you, though," once again, she turned to leave, and this time she wasn't planning on being stopped, at all. However, she did have one more thing to say, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about me, despite your whole life purpose. Or, trust me, it would defeat the purpose of your purpose," if she wouldn't have been so fool of caution, and in a hurry to leave, she would have laughed at Dawn's expression. Instead, she continued to walk away, "You can't help the dead."

After a moment, of just standing still, Dawn blinked, closing her eyes for a millisecond longer than usual, and when she opened them, the girl had vanished. It took her a second of two longer to realize something, "Uh oh, that might have been really bad for us…"

****************************************

Giles watched as all the girls filed into the living room, each and every one of the hundred or so of them carrying in a plastic plate, with some kind of sandwich, and some kind chips. They were already late getting started, as it was, but having each of them walk in with food made him especially annoyed. In the mist of the girls, he spotted Faith walking towards him, also with a plate in hand. She, like most of the girls, had started eating before even reaching a seat, as if they were starving, "Uh, pardon me but I don't remember me saying that this was going to be some kind of luncheon," he rubbed his forehead roughly, "Faith, these girls already have a hard time sitting through these things as it is, giving them food is just adding on to the distraction."

"Wrong," she put a chip in her mouth, and chewed it, as she and Giles turned towards all the girls, as they each found seats to sit in, "Look at it this way, with food in their mouths, they'll find it that much harder to run their damn mouths during all this. They won't be able to whine about needin a food break. And, for all the couples in the audience," she spotted the most known couple that had lived in the other mansion with her and everyone else, and not surprisingly at all, they were sitting in the seats closest to the back of the room, in one of the corners of the room, eating and making goo-goo eyes at one another, "they won't be able to make-out with each other thinking that no one is seeing them, only to have us stop the meeting and tell them to hold off," she smiled at her explanation, "You're all set."

Really, though annoyed by the situation, he did see the logic in what Faith was saying--And he was definitely glad to hear that he won't be seeing any teenage girls making out with each other, while he's trying to focus on the task at hand, "Well," he shrugged slightly, "I could see how the food would be of--"

"Great," she pat him on the shoulder, and then made her way over to Dawn, who was leaning against a wall, to the far left of the man she had just been talking to. After thinking, between setting the chairs up, and making her own plate of food, about the whole taking Buffy out with her situation, she had managed to find a possible way of making Buffy unable to resist going out. This irresistible reason was who she was heading towards, "So," she leaned on the wall as well, "I was thinking of maybe going out later, to one of the clubs near by, and I thought maybe you'd like to come. Especially seeing your new discovery, and all, since this club is an all ladies thing tonight."

Dawn, who had still been thinking about the girl in her class, whether she had given out too much information, and why she couldn't remember that girl ever being in her class before, not that she paid attention to everyone…her mind was full of questions, and considering what Faith had just said, there was yet another one added to the pile, "What?" her eyes blinked repeatedly, as if she were trying to see if she had just imagined Faith's insinuation, entirely, though that itself would bring up questions, "What is that supposed to mean?"

Faith winked at the younger woman, "Hey, no worries. Sure goin to tell your sister probably wasn't the best of choices, but I'm sure she's only told me, and it's not like I'm the closed minded type. I mean, hell, I'm the one suggesting that we all go out tonight. I just thought you'd like to maybe get out there…test the waters a little bit," seeing that Giles was beginning to speak, and that Shannon had just entered the room, giving her a look that suggested that she go over to the woman, Faith figured it'd be better if she headed back to the head of the room, where Buffy, Kennedy, and Willow were gathering as well, "Just think about it. It'll be fun, I'm sure. After that test, I'm sure you're needin a little breather," she started to walk away, "Come on, you're part of the 'leaders' too."

If it weren't for Faith trying to include her at the 'grown-up' part of the room, she probably would have had a few choice words for the woman, though really they would have been for her sister, but seeing that she was being included, and that never used to be included in anything at the main house before, she was going to just save it for Buffy. Faith was being the nice one after all. As if here day hadn't been chaotic enough, she now had rumors being spread about her, by her own sister…was she back in high school again, and somehow unaware of that fact, "I have a little question for you," her voice was flat, as she leaned towards her sister, while standing beside her, "Why does Faith think that I'm gay, or anything other than straight?"

Buffy's eyes widened. She had not expected Faith to actually go to Dawn about the conversation they had had that morning, for some reason. Though, thinking about it, she hit herself mentally for forgetting that Faith had a big mouth--Or so she perceived the woman to have, "I don't know," yep, lying was going to become her new hobby. Along with shifting the topic of conversation on to other people, just as she had that morning, "Ask Kennedy."

Giles finished his sentence, "…this may very well be the end of the world, if we do not succeed."

Shannon leaned towards Faith, "Why is Buffy looking at you like she wants to chop you up with a machete?" the blonde kept her intense glare heading towards the brunette beside her for another moment, until Dawn walked away from her, and headed in what seemed to be Kennedy's direction, "Shouldn't you all be paying attention?"

"Doesn't that include you, 'cause you're obviously not payin any attention to what he is saying, seeing that you're noticing other people starin at me," there were lots of suggestive tones in that sentence, filled with a certain amount of teasing, "No worries, we all get bored with this stuff, and in the end we only hear bits and pieces of it," she looked around the room, "Where the hell is Xander, and Andrew?"

"Andrew's the blonde annoying one, right? He's in the kitchen making more sandwiches just incase any of the girls want seconds," the last part was said in a fake chipper tone, and played with a fake smile, "You're all pathetic," instead of responding with some kind of angry remark, Faith offered her a handful of chips…which she accepted, rolling her eyes as she did, "So," she ate a chip, "you up for that walk you owe me, later? And don't feed me any bullshit excuses about being tired after this whole thing is over, 'cause I know better than to believe that from a slayer."

"Hmm," a grin played across her lips, "Do you know this from experience?" her brows moved suggestively, "Make a few rounds around the house after we said our goodbyes, did we?" if she would have been able to without causing a disruption, she would have laughed at Shannon's expression, at what she was suggesting. However, busting out into laughter would have seemed insane, considering what Giles was in the middle of saying--

"…and some of you may not make it, but…"

'Last time I checked the death speech was B's thing,' she thought, before turning her attention back to Shannon, "No walk in the park for us tonight. I'm goin out," she looked around for somewhere to put how now empty plate, and as if on cue, Andrew entered the room, an apron tied around his waist, caring a trash bag. He walked up to her, and held out the bag, and then continued on his way of cleaning. Another thing she had to stop herself from laughing at, "Some stuff I've gotta take care of."

"Patrolling stuff?" the woman asked. They both stopped talking as Giles motioned towards her, saying something about her saying they needed to work to be prepared to fight her kind, "It's the only way you'll even stand a chance," she said. As soon as Giles, and everyone else's eyes weren't on her, she looked at Faith, who just rolled her eyes, "What, it's true? Just answer the question."

"No, not patrolling stuff. Other…stuff," she crossed her arms, glancing over at Kennedy, who was currently shrugging at something Dawn had said. Right beside Kennedy, Willow sat on a couch, seeming to actually be paying attention to what Giles was saying. Then, she looked to Buffy, who was actually staring at Willow, "B and I are goin out to a club near here. Dawn might be goin, too, if all goes according to plan."

"And, who's plan is this, exactly?" there was no need for Faith to even answer the question, the woman was so easy to read. All she had to do was follow the woman's eyes, and all her questions were answered instantly, "You're kidding me right? Or are you really that pathetic?"

Faith's jaw clinched, "Just to let you know, I'll only sit back and listen to you talk shit about me for so long," sure, she had control over her reflex to hit someone who insulted her, but the woman had a thing for calling her pathetic, and what upset her even more was that it was partly true, "Look, I'm just doin her a favor by getting B out of the house for a few hours."

"Yep, you are just that pathetic," Giles looked to her again, so she had to hold off on continuing her conversation with Faith. She stepped forward, "The best way to get ready is to take a select few of you through a certain kind of training that will involve a bit of travel, so you can get used to fighting in different weather conditions…and just under different conditions in general. Too bad I can't take you to a planet with no oxygen," she laughed slightly--And she was the only one, "Other than that, Willow and I will be working on a few spells to make this fight that much easier for all of you. These next few weeks are not going to be full of fun-time-training. It's going to be painful, you're going to get hurt, and you're going to get tired, but if you focus, and you keep driving yourself to move forward, then you'll survive. Each and every one of you could do this. You've just got to get rid off your slayer mentality first, and stop thinking that you're some unstoppable force, at the levels you are now. You're all weak, and pathetic--"

"And here I was thinking it was going to be motivational for once," Faith mumbled, and of course everyone in the room heard her, but only a few of the girls dared to laugh even a little.

"…But, those are conditions humans are capable of getting rid of. If you will yourself to," seeing that that was all she had to say, she moved back to stand beside Faith, "That goes for you, too, Faith. The last thing I need is to have my strongest protectors," another air of sarcasm, "busy being used, and fooled around with by their own emotions. Rag dolls aren't usually very helpful in battle. And the more you let her use you, the more like a rag doll you become. Pretty soon, I won't even want to play with you even more," there was no question that that had sounded a little sexual, but they both knew for sure that it wasn't sexual at all, and even if Faith thought it was sexual, Shannon didn't care enough to point out whether it was or wasn't, "Have fun at the club."

Faith looked over at Buffy again, glad to see that the woman was no longer staring at Willow. She still didn't understand how no one saw it--How Willow didn't see it, especially. The redhead and the blonde had been friends for years, how could they not completely read each other at this point, when she could read Kennedy with a simple glance? The blonde was definitely going to be an obstacle if Kennedy was serious about getting Willow back, and seeing that Faith was Kennedy's best friend, she felt that she was obligated to help her friend, even if she really didn't want to. She made her way over to Buffy, who gave her a suspicious look, as she moved slightly behind the blonde, "You wanna go out tonight, Dawn and I are goin to out to this club--"

"You're what?" before the blonde could continue, she noticed a shift in the air, and looked at all the newbie slayers, who were being told how everything was going to work, in terms of who's in what group, and which group does what. Giles was trying to explain why it just wasn't a good idea to try to train each and every one of them at the same level, but the girls weren't having it. Seeing that it was getting a little hostile, she stepped forward, "Hey, there is not going to be any arguing about this. With what we're dealing with, it's just not a good idea to focus all of you on the same kind of skills needed. We haven't exactly figured everything out, yet, but right now, we do know that, so all of you are just going to have to deal with it."

Kennedy was suddenly next to the blonde, "We've already got the main group set up," catching the look Buffy was giving her, she shrugged, "Decided to keep the girls here this morning, and after some long extensive training, we figured that ten would do for the extensive training…which has not been worked out entirely," this time, it was Giles who gave her a look, which she also shrugged at.

One of the girls in the crowd stood up--She was Latina, looked to be about seventeen, her hair was dark, as well as her eyes…which were full of anger at the moment, "Wait, you're sayin that Buffy wasn't even in on this splitting up thing this morning?" actually, there was no real reason to be upset, she had been one of the girls that were part of the ten, but still, it didn't seem right, "That's not fair. Here at this house, Buffy's in charge, and her not being included means that our house didn't get fair choice."

Faith huffed, "What the hell are you talking about? It's not like Kenn and I just picked out all the girls that we know and love," she said, sarcastically, "We had you all to put out how strong you are, by raising your damn hands. Not my fault that not all of you are at the same level. Not all of you work as hard, and some of you just started training a couple weeks ago, so don't start with this fair crap."

Another girl stood, "So, the fact that these ten happen to mostly consist of your house is just…coincidence?"

Buffy motioned for the girls to sit down, "Hey, look, not that I don't love the sticking up for 'our' house thing, and me being in charge or whatever, but we're all here together now, and that means that I'm not the only slayer in charge anymore," there was a lot of eye rolling in front of her, a few smirks from some, and other kinds of expressions she was annoyed at the sight of, "It's not like we're only going to have this main group, and then the rest of you do nothing. We're just splitting you up into categories."

"That seems to be the best way," Willow said, from her spot on the couch, "I'll need a group of girls for when we figure this whole soul thing out. I mean, everyone will be told, but if we have a sole group focusing on it, it'll make it stronger, and won't put too much on their schedule as opposed to giving them all fifty different kinds of training."

"Willow is right," Giles nodded, "Though, I don't think ten girls will be enough for the extensive training."

"We'll worry about that later," Faith looked out at the girls, "Alright, so let's see, who's gonna be the ones to be stuffed behind a desk for hours?" she knew putting it that way would only upset a lot of the girls, but she didn't care. They had to learn to just do what they needed to do in order to keep the world safe; that included following orders, "How about coincidence girl? Yeah, I think you're gonna be my number one pick."

Coincidence girl stood up once again, throwing her chair back slightly, "Who the hell put you in charge of this?"

For a while, surprisingly, only Buffy's girls had been standing up to protest what was going on, but the next girl was not part of the main house. It was actually one of Faith's top girls, who also happened to be one half of the power couple from the other mansion, "Why don't you show some fuckin respect and sit the fuck down?" Sasha said, aggressively. She was only medium height, but she had this air around her that let you know really fast that she wasn't good to mess with. Pushing her light brown bangs out of her eyes, she stared intently at the girl now labeled as 'coincidence' girl, "You and your group might have been able to start trouble while their eyes weren't watching, arguing over who's in charge here, or whatever, but now it's time to shut up. It's time to get serious. And I'd actually like to get this over and done with so I can get back to more…fun activities--"

Faith's brow rose at the girl's words; she knew exactly what fun activities the girl was thinking of, and she was sure that the girl next to her--Tammy, who was equally small, but still strong as well--blushed slightly, "Everyone calm down--"

"How about you stick to those fun activities and shut your mouth," this was Latina girl again, already popping her knuckles, as if she felt things were getting out of control, "Otherwise I'll have to teach you a little lesson. This ain't the kiddy mansion anymore."

Sighing, Buffy put her hand over her eyes, in annoyance, "You've got to be kidding me--" just as she mumbled those words, she heard an outbreak of yelling in the room. She looked over at Kennedy, who was about to jump in and grab Miranda, the Latina girl, before Sasha hit her square in the jaw. Faith was starting to yell something about kicking all of their asses if they all started fighting. Giles was frowning more intensely than she had seem him frown in a while. Dawn was trying to move away from the crowd to the couch where Willow was rising to move towards Kennedy, who Buffy looked to see had been the one to take that hit from Sasha, who was already apologizing. Chaos…it was chaos…She couldn't even find Andrew, but she swore she heard his girly squeal near the back of the room, "That's enough," she said, as she moved to step in, but before she could even start any kind of lecture, or anything like that, the room filled with a scream. This one a lot different from Andrew's; instead of just being shrill and full of fear, it was extremely loud, and full of pain.

Everyone in the room froze, eyes turning in one direction, each of them landing on Shannon. She was actually in a part of the room, where hardly anyone was around her at all, minus a few girls who seemed to have actually moved away from the riot. Her hands were on her ears, and her eyes were tightly sealed shut, as her mouth poured out a scream like none of them had ever heard. And, just as all the head slayers were about to move to go to the woman, who was falling to her knees, about eight men appeared standing a few feet away from her, circled around her. Each of the men were wearing black suits which accented their pale skin, and their eyes were a milky white; they were blind, but each of them seemed to looking down at Shannon, slowly lifting one of their hands to point at her, as she continued to scream.

The sight of the men had thrown them off at first, but after a moment, once again the lead slayers were on the move. Faith passed Buffy quickly, though the blonde was initially in front of her, and she was more than ready to strike, still feeling frustration from the situation from just a few moments before. But, once again she was stopped, this time by the appearance of someone else in the circle, kneeled down directly in front of Shannon.

Dawn recognized the girl instantly, and gasped, 'Crap…don't be bad…please don't--'

The girl, who was kneeling directly in front of Shannon, lifted her hands to the woman's ears, "Shhh," she pressed hard, trying to harness the woman's chaotic outlet of magic, in order to pull the magic, enabling the sound to be heard in her ears to be heard, out of the woman's head, "Shh," she said, again, and slowly, Shannon stopped screaming, "It's okay…they can have me instead."

Shannon's eyes flew open, dark green meeting dark green, as the girl in front of her removed her hands from her ears, and slowly moved to back away. She could only shake her head to protest against what she knew the girl was going to do.

"Don't worry, I always escape," in a swift motion, she turned her eyes turned the men, and screamed. All of them lifted a hand pointing at her, and their mouths open, as if they were screaming as well, except nothing came out. Then, a grayish blue portal appeared, and a something reached out and wrapped it's arm around the girls neck, just as she turned to look at Shannon again--One moment the girl was there, the next she wasn't, and all the men vanished with her.

"No!" finally she was able to speak, her throat aching. She slammed her fists down on the wood floor, and the house shook, "No!" after a moment of just sitting and staring at the floor, all eyes on her, she stood up, her eyes full of furry, "There won't be anymore of this arguing," her voice made each of them flinch. They thought she was going to say more, but she didn't say anything at all. Instead, she just walked out of the room, passing Xander on the way.

The man walked in, "Sorry I'm late…" he said, slowly.

Faith turned to the majority of the girls, "No more bullshit. You don't like listening to all of us, pack your bags, and get the fuck out. But if you're staying…you get ready for it, 'cause it's time to get the ball rolling. All of you get the fuck out of my sight."

"This house better be silent for the rest of the day," Buffy added.

Kennedy folded her arms, "And if it's not, you'll get to see how much fun having three leaders really is. Then, there won't be any question of who's in charge."

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Alrighty, so that's it guys. Next chapter will be just a tiny one really, like an in between. After Buffy's conversation is interrupted by Kennedy she decided to Faith up on her offer, despite the new chaotic event; and Shannon interrupts Kennedy's chat with Willow in order to speak to the witch about getting started with the magic, which leads to Remy's return; and…other things may happen, I'm not sure yet. Sorry for the wait, and not having a humungous chapter to present, but just to let you guys know, I should be updating TIBTO soon, and I've started another story, if you want to check it out. It's not exactly set into place yet, but it's something to read…Thanks again, and let me know what you think. -*ThomThom*

P.S. same old same old…sorry for any typos.


	9. Delusion and Transformation

Ah yes, I'm on a role with this updating thing…lol. Anyways, glad that you guys enjoyed the last chapter…or an update in general. This chapter is just something---It's kind of a for fun chapter, as well as a major focus chapter. There's less characters than the last one (which is always good) and our main two characters are in the same room--Even better! So, I hope that you all enjoy it, and that it's entertaining as well as interesting. Thanks so much for reading, and thanks to all of you who have been reviewing, I really appreciate it.-*ThomThom*

Chapter Seven: Delusion and Transformation

Buffy laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling with her arms beneath her head. The day had been a long one; too long for her comfort. Two whole days seemed in her head to be a lifetime worth of events--A new threat, new housemates, old housemates, new rooms, new feelings for friends, house rivalries, scary blind men…again. It didn't seem possible that all those things had only been two days worth of events, and yet the actuality of it laid heavy on her shoulders. There was a lot going on not only around her, but within her as well, and somehow the outside chaos was more bearable. She could fight evil things; protect people who needed protecting--though that had not gone so well earlier that day--She could put the younger slayers back in line, and she could deal with the long lectures from Giles. But, what she was feeling inside was not something she felt so ready to face. There had been no best friend crush issues before, not for her anyways, and Xander having a crush on her back in the day was purely adolescent. She was a grownup, and who she was crushing on wasn't someone she had just met, and found extra attractive, or anything like that. This was someone she had known for a long time--Since the dawn of time, according to some. That made things just that much more scary, and confusing.

During the meeting, as she thought back to before the chaos broke out, and after she had given Faith the death stare, she had not really been paying attention to anything that Giles had been saying. Even when she was looking at him, and she could see that his mouth was obviously moving, but it was like he had been speaking in a foreign language. It wasn't that what he was saying was complicated, or so she suspected since she wasn't listening, it was because her mind was on another part of the room. The part of the room where Willow sat, closer to Kennedy for her own comfort. At first, she just frowned at the sight of them, wondering why they had decided to be so close to one another, but after a while, she felt this building within her. Not just of anger, and a tinge of pain, but of sadness as well--She had been jealous. Jealous of the fact that Kennedy got to be close to Willow, who obviously was wanting to be closer to the brunette, or that's how it looked in her eyes…even though Willow had obviously been paying attention to Giles.

However, when she hadn't been thinking about the fact that Willow was closer to Kennedy, she was thinking about how beautiful the woman looked when she was trying to concentrate. She could just see Willow digesting every single word the man was saying; occasionally nodding, or sighing. There had been a bit of sunlight coming through a window, and it had made the woman have this glow about her…her skin seemed to be a light source itself, and her hair had been on fire. Of course, her hair was always red, and her skin was always clear and smooth looking…it was just that in that moment, it was more than that.

Obviously, Buffy had been distracted. Too distracted to notice any bit of tension in the room between the girls, and too distracted to notice something was wrong with Shannon--Though that could have been because the woman didn't want them to notice. It was no secret that the woman was stubborn, and didn't think they were much protection at the moment, but still, she felt she should have sensed that something had been wrong. From the very beginning, something had been wrong. At least, as she thought back to it, that's how she perceived the meeting. Her mind wandered back on the meeting, spotting the faces of ones closest to her; Dawn had obviously been on edge, beyond the rumor spreading about her, especially when Shannon's whole deal went down; Faith was in too good of a mood to really be in a good mood; Kennedy was too quiet; Willow was concentrating too hard; and even Andrew seemed to be working a little to hard; then there was Xander who showed up late, and left early. There was something going on. Something that was outside the new danger, and completely within the personal lives of all the head people of the house. Except for Giles, but he didn't really count, since he didn't live there…though Xander didn't live there either.

There was absolutely no time for them to be so distracted, and she knew that for sure, after getting a small taste of Shannon's world. After the meeting, Giles explained that he thought Shannon's spell had worn off, and that she had been hearing the call of her kinds home…hints the hands over ears, and screaming. He said something about fighting the sound being painful and dangerous. That was a little obvious to them by that point. What he could not explain was what exactly had happened beyond the spell wearing off. Shannon had, not surprisingly, failed to explain to him what exactly would happen if she didn't answer to the call of her kind, so the old blind men, and the portal, and the thing that reached from within the portal--Big question marks. Ones that they preferred not to keep as so, just incase whatever was in the portal ever decided to step out, if Shannon were to hear the call again, or if those blind men had some kind of dangerous power. There was one thing they all knew for sure; whatever magic that was involved had been completely dark. There hadn't been an ounce of goodness within it. Another question in their heads was who in the world had seemed to save Shannon; somehow taking the woman's place in terms of someone needing to be pulled through the portal. That was another moment Dawn seemed to be shifty, but had simply said that she was just shaken up by the whole thing.

The seriousness of the situation was amplified, and they all decided that they needed to get started immediately. No more lying about, and not planning things out thoroughly. Sure, they had just had something laid out in front of them randomly, but that didn't seem to be a good enough excuse, especially not for Giles. He demanded that each and every one of them give as much of their attention to the task at hand, as they were obviously giving to whatever was going on in their personal lives…and to stop acting like a bunch of teenager. In their defense, Xander had pointed out the fact that it wasn't like they had had much time to act like teenagers when they had actually been teenagers. Giles' response was, 'Trust me when I say that you all acted like teenagers then, as well.'

Hearing the sound of someone approaching the door, Buffy sighed, preparing herself for Willow to walk in. Each of them, minus Xander who left as the planning began, had went off in preparation of working out their next few weeks of training; Willow, Giles, Dawn, and Andrew going with the more book study stuff; and her, Kennedy, and Faith planning out some of the training. They had decided that each training session one of the head slayers would stay with the group of girls who weren't getting the extensive training to make sure that the other's kept up with their training, while the other two handled the training in different weather conditions. They had wanted to go into further detail of where they needed to go, and what exactly would go on there, but to know that they needed Shannon to be there, and since the woman had not reemerged after her mini-earthquake thing, they had to call their meeting short. Willow and the others on the other hand, had spent a few hours talking, and setting things up.

"Hey," the redhead entered the room, closing the door softly behind her, "Long day, huh?" after much discussion, and changes of plans, her 'team' had finally come to an agreement about what they were going to; not fast enough for her liking, however, "I never want to talk apocalyptic lesson plans with Giles ever again," she huffed, as headed towards her closet, walking over to the window first, "Mind if I open the curtains?"

"Not at all," once the light of the full moon played across the redhead's face, she was able to see the little bit of concern on her friends face. Of course, as a friend should, she had that instinct to find out what was wrong with Willow, and to set out to make her feel better. However, she was unsure that she was up to it. For some reason, she just knew that it would somehow end up with being comforting of the physical sort--Meaning a hug, or a holding type of thing, and that was something she wasn't sure she could handle. Still, not asking didn't seem like an option either, "You okay?"

"Uh…" she contemplated saying 'yes' that she was fine, but she knew there was no point in lying, "I'm just a little on edge after that whole thing with Shannon--Who Giles says we have to find tomorrow, if she doesn't turn up on her own--It's been a long time since I've felt that kind of magic so close," when she entered her closet, she stood there for a moment, wondering if Buffy was going to say something, but of course the slayer hadn't said anything. They had this thing where they just knew when it was time to listen--That words weren't what the other needed, just a lent ear, and a few possible comforting embraces, "It was purely dark magic, if that makes since. Nothing like the dark magic I used when…It was more ancient, and I hadn't thought that was possible considering what I used. I don't know…it was so different, and yet so familiar. Like it was the parent of what I had used…I don't know," she said, honestly.

"You're worried," of course she was worried; if that was the kind of magic that Shannon's kind used, that meant that Willow herself would soon have to delve into that sort of dark magic. Of course she was worried, "But, we'll all be here, Will."

"I know," once she had changed, she walked into the bedroom, sending her best friend a forced smile, but it was obviously not a real one, "You guys are always there for me, and it's great, but I can't help but wonder…What if it's too much. Like, what if I can't even tap into it at all without getting too scared, and backing out? 'Cause that's what I feel like doing now, and we haven't even started, yet," lazily, she sat on the bed to where she was facing Buffy, pulling her legs up in front of her to hug her knees, "I can still feel it, and I'm just…" her eyes fell, "What if--"

"Hey," though unsure of herself, Buffy sat up slowly, and scooted closer to her friend, ignoring that feeling in the pit of her stomach as she began to feel the heat radiating from the redhead, "It's okay if you're scared," gently, she placed her hand beneath Willow's chin, lifting her head so their eyes met, "This is something that you have the right to be scared of," her voice lowered, "But, I promise you, with everything that I am, that I will never ever let anything happen to you," back when Willow had first been consumed by dark magic, she had had to fight her friend, but seeing all that she felt, especially in that moment, she knew she wouldn't be able to do it again. There was no question in her mind that she couldn't do it again, "I'd die before I let anything happen to you, so you just can stop worrying--Okay?"

"What if I hurt someone?" it was a question that was haunting her; one that scared her more than anything. When that magic filled her, there was no telling what she would do. She didn't trust herself to be able to stop if things got out of hand; she didn't trust that whatever it was inside her that longed for power wouldn't just seek out more, when she desperately needed to stop, "What if lose control?"

Buffy pushed a strand of hair out of the other woman's face, "Well, then I'll just have to protect you from yourself," she gave a slight smile, which Willow returned, and then pulled her friend into a hug, "That's what best friends are for, right?" feeling Willow's arms tighten around her neck, she let out a quiet sigh, and closed her eyes, feeling a sense of the long journey ahead. She was hoping that it wouldn't turn bad for the witch, but there was no sure way to know, and everyone knew that it was a possibility that things could get really bad--That Willow could end up being on the list of problems. But, if Buffy had anything to say about it, that would not happen…unfortunately, it wasn't something that was in her control--At all.

"Oh no," Willow pulled back, and wiped away a tear just as it fell, "You've got me crying, here," she laughed. Sure that she wasn't going to cry again, she took Buffy's hands into her own, "Thank you," her voice cracked slightly, so she cleared her throat, "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Lucky for you, you won't have to find out, either," there was a promise within her words, because with every approaching apocalypse the life of a slayer was put on the line. They were the fighters. The ones that had to stand right at the line of fire, ready to fight, and to even possibly sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Buffy had been there; she had done that. This time, she wanted to make sure she made it out alive no matter what, even if it meant they lost, and had to go into hiding to regroup. She needed to still be breathing when everything was said and done.

Willow wasn't done, "You've just been so amazing over the last couple months," though she had thanked Buffy on multiple occasions for being there for her through thick and thin, considering the conversation they were having, and the impending apocalypse, she felt that she really needed to say how grateful she was, "Whether I was binge eating, and you had to hide all the junk food, even though the girls wanted to kill you for it; or if I was drowning you in tears; making everyone sit through the worst comedies of the century; or occasionally not showering…you were there for me. No matter what time it was, or where you were supposed to be--You were with me when I needed you, and I am so grateful for that. More grateful than you could imagine."

There was a rising tension that was making her uncomfortable, "Are you breaking up with me?" she gasped, with a smile on her face; another moment where she wondered what exactly was wrong with her brain, but then again, it wasn't out of the ordinary. They had thank you moments; and they had tension breaker moments. She was just breaking the tension was all.

Laughing, Willow shook her head, "I'm serious, Buff," she paused, "If it weren't for you, I'd be about twenty pounds heavier, and walking around smelling like something not so pleasant had died in my hair."

"Oh, that is serious," she smiled, "And, you're welcome," it was true, she had been there every step of the way during Willow's emotional recovery, and sometimes it was a little…disconcerting, but at the end of the day, she had always been happy to do it, "There was nowhere else I would have rather been on any of those days," she looked down for a moment, as Willow gave her hands a squeeze, and then met the redhead's eyes, again. This time staring at them intently. Once again, she could feel that heat, as their eyes stayed locked to one another's, and there was that feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her body was trying to move, she could feel it, but she had to hold it back. There was no way that she could…and yet, she found herself leaning in; her eyes lowering to Willow's lips…lips she hadn't really noticed before. And just as she began to close her eyes, seeing that Willow was not suddenly moving back in panic, there was a nock at the door. Instantly, her eyes flew open, and she pulled her hands out of her friend's grasp.

Willow blinked repeatedly, as a frown played across her features, "Buffy…" there was another knock at the door, "Come in," she sighed, as she turned and got off of the bed.

Kennedy walked into the room, ignoring the uneasiness she instantly felt, "Hey, Will, can I talk to you for a sec," she looked to Buffy, who was staring down at the blankets on her lap, her arms tightly wrapped around herself, "Everything okay?" she asked, thinking that the slayer was possibly already stressing out over their newest enemy.

Buffy got up from the bed, slowly, "I'm gonna go," she went over to the dresser at the front of the room, grabbing a few things, and then walked out of the room, squeezing past Kennedy, while also ignoring the eyes burrowing through her back.

***************************************

Faith took off her shirt, leaving her only wearing a white muscle shirt, and black boy shorts, trying to manage the heat of her room. She went over to her window, pushing the curtains out of the way, and lifted it quickly, moaning as the coolness from outside rushed past her. When she had first found her room so hot, she had walked around to different rooms of the house trying to see if the air condition was out, but found that it was only her room that seemed to be so stuffy and warm. And, being that she was tired, she decided to just deal with it by wearing as little clothes as she possibly could without being almost completely naked, just incase someone--not necessarily Kennedy, but mainly Kennedy--decided that they needed to talk to her, or something like that.

She picked her clothes up off of the floor, and tossed them on her bed, so she wouldn't manage to forget to hang them up, and trip on them in the morning. Then, she went over to her dresser, pulling a tissue out of the tissue box, that she didn't remember putting in there, and wiped her lipstick off. As she did so, the random Kleenex box being in her room hit her completely. Her movements slowed, and she turned to face her bed, leaning against the dresser, "Hmm," she said, between closed lips, "It's hot as hell in here, and there's Kleenex, when I sure as hell ain't a crier, or sick," with a nod, she crumpled the Kleenex, and tossed it onto her dresser, "Right," just as she was about to add to that, she was interrupted by a knock on her door, which actually made her roll her eyes, instead of feel with excitement, or sigh in relief, "Yeah?" she had expected to see Kennedy's head poke into the room, but was surprised to see a bundle of blonde hair, "B?"

"Hey," she walked into the room a little more, "Why is it so damn hot in here?" she questioned. Faith simply shrugged at the question, which actually surprised Buffy. As soon as she had asked the question, she had prepared to hear some kind of cocky comeback; actually she had wanted to hear one, but it was obvious by Faith's nonchalant shrug that there was no comeback in the works, "I was wondering if your offer still stands."

The brunette's brows rose, "Offer?" the word offer only brought naughty things to her mind in her heated room, and while she was wearing what she was wearing, but she knew she hadn't given any kind of 'offer' like that to Buffy--Or to anyone for that matter, "Offer to what?"

"To go out," Buffy answered. Faith gave her a questioning look; one that was understandable, but she needed to get out of the mansion. Really, she felt like she needed to leave the country, but it was beyond the wrong time to disappear. No matter how much she truly wanted to, "I know that it seems crazy to go out considering everything that happened today, and we're supposed to be all focused, but I really need to get out for a bit, and you wanted to go out anyways, so…Just think of it as an outing before all outings must cease."

"I want to go," Dawn said, appearing suddenly next to her sister, "I'm still invited right?" earlier that day, the thought of going to hang out with Faith on 'ladies night' was one that immediately made Dawn question the woman's state of mind, but seeing that she had had a pile of stress laid upon her shoulders earlier, she was more than willing to ignore Faith's state of mind in order to go out. Not that she couldn't go by herself…not that she would go by herself, 'Damn brain,' she looked to Buffy, "I am still invited…'cause--"

Buffy instantly answered, "No--" going out to get away had not made her think of fun times with her younger sister on 'ladies night', while Faith was there, and while she was also in the middle of not being so sure about her own sexuality--Which, by what had just happened in Willow's room, was definitely something she had the right to question.

"Sure you are, D," Faith said, with a devilish grin, "Let me just get ready, and then we can head out," the two sisters nodded, but didn't seem to be making a move to leave, "Not that I care either way, but are you gonna get out, or are you gonna stand there and watch me change?" she asked, and both of them turned to leave immediately. Faith pulled a different tank from her drawers, got a pair of dark jeans from her closet, and then walked over to her bed change. Not a single part of her hesitated, and why would it, she had never been the shy type. So, she took her time while she changed, grabbed a jacket at the last moment, along with some lipstick, and then headed out the door, "I'll be back."

**************************************

Buffy shoved her ID back into her pocket, still not believing the fact that she even had to show it. Not that she wasn't glad that she looked younger than she was to some people, but considering that she was the shorter of the bunch, she was completely thinking it had to do with her height, 'I'm no dwarf,' as they entered the club, the pounding bass within instantly began to make her heart pound to its rhythm, "I didn't think it would be this loud," she said, leaning back towards Dawn, who was right on her heels. Actually, there were lots of things she hadn't expected. The other club, that she had gone to with Willow, had had more alternative music, and…well, lights. Normal lights, where as the club they were in only had lots of blinking strobe lights, with pounding dance music of sorts she wasn't sure of.

"I know, right," she looked around the barely lit room, which somewhat resembled the way the bronze was set up, instead it was bigger, and the bar was no where to be seen. Then again, that was probably because of all the people--Woman, "It seems more like a rave," her sister shot her a questioning look, making her laugh uneasily, "Not that I would know," she huffed, before averting the woman's eyes. She looked past her sister to see that Faith was already drawing some of the women's attention, just by walking through the crowd, and slightly moving her body to the rhythm of the music, but considering all the times Dawn had seen Faith dance, the woman might as well of been standing still compared to what she usually looked like dancing.

"Hey, you guys want to find the bar first, or are you up for dancing now," Faith asked, stopping to turn to the two tagalongs, though considering how she had ended up there, she had become the tagalong…or the tour guide, depending on how you looked at it. Wait, that wasn't the right definition of tagalong, "I'm fine either way, but seeing that you two are usually extremely tightly wound, I'm thinking a few drinks would do you some good," she looked at Dawn, grinning, "You are twenty-one, aren't you?"

"Close enough," Dawn blurted, noticing that Buffy was going to answer the question for her, "And for your information, I am not usually extremely tightly wound," she moved her arm to gesture as she talked, and accidentally touched someone that was dancing, "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to--"

The woman who Dawn had accidentally touched turned to look at her; her bright blue eyes shinning even in the dim room, accented by her black hair, "It's fine," she smiled, "I didn't mind."

Dawn laughed nervously, and then turned to Faith, "You said something about drinks?"

Faith couldn't help but laugh, "Yeah, follow me," she began to walk through the crowd again, a grin seeming to be permanently plastered across her face, 'It's been a long time,' she thought to herself, and though she had been out with Kennedy a few days back, it had truly been a long time. It had been a long time since she had come to a club like she was in at that very moment. One that was more aggressive; one where she didn't have the constant reminder of the fact that she had feelings for her best friend; one where she didn't have to worry about turning to see her best friend who she liked making out with some random person; one where she felt like her old self…minus the homicidal angry bit, "Try to keep up," she said, loudly, feeling that Buffy was further away than before, "I might forget to look for you if you get lost out here."

Since Dawn was actually paying attention to the brunette slayer, thinking ahead about what drink she wanted, and how she needed to kick back a few, she moved past her sister, grabbing the blondes arm to pull her along, "Yeah, right, forget. More like vanish to some back alley, or some dark corner for that matter. You get me my drink before you start hunting."

"Whatever you say, D," the slayer laughed.

Buffy on the other hand had forgotten all about the fact that they were heading to the bar for drinks, though she had decided on having a few as soon as Faith had mentioned a bar, she was suddenly hypnotized by the swarm of women around her. Not necessarily in a way that she could understand…it wasn't that she was overwhelmed by how many of them there were; so many that she couldn't see any walls, or any person that wasn't moving--It was just that she was suddenly aware of them. It was odd. And, it also brought a theory to mind, 'Maybe this can clear a few things up for me, since I've recently almost kissed another woman. Am I attracted to women?' she looked around, spotting someone who had on a very tight black shirt, or so it looked black, that exposed some of their stomach, which had a thin layer of sweat on it, which she could see very well as certain shade of light beamed across the room, 'Is that attractive?' she wondered. Not paying attention to her sister's lack of movement, she bumped into the back of the girl, "Oh."

Faith had noticed Buffy's eyes on an another area of the room, she moved to stand next to the blonde, there was a line at the bar anyways, and followed tried to follow the other line of sight, "Who were you…" she stopped, focusing as the lights grew brighter for just a moment, "Well look at that," no, she wasn't a hundred percent sure that she was looking at who the blonde had been staring at, but really it didn't matter, "You've got good taste--"

"What?"

"Oh, oh, who are we looking at?" Dawn questioned, while making sure to hold their place in line. Both slayers turned to her with brows rose, "What?" she pouted, "I don't want to be left out of the loop. Sue me."

"Come on, let's get those drinks," finally seeing an opening to the bar, she made her way forward, getting attention of one of the bartenders, "Molly," yep, she knew one of them. She might not have seriously been out in a while, but that didn't mean she had never explored the town since thy had arrived there, "Let's get a few jager bombs down here."

"The magic words," Molly said, over the crowd. She was tall, with auburn hair, which was pulled up sloppily, and a few tattoos down her arm, "Not gonna serve you just 'cause you're hot Faith."

Faith laughed, "What kind of serving are we talking about, here, 'cause me being hot is way more than enough for--" the woman shot her a look, "Fine. Fine. Please."

"Wow, did Faith just say please?" Buffy teased, "Who is this woman that can get Faith to drop her ego for even a second," she leaned forward, past Dawn who was obviously just thinking about the abundance of shots she was about have, 'Hmm,' she thought for a moment, 'Is this Molly woman attractive?' she looked the woman up and down, trying to single out a few key things--The woman seemed to be in good shape. She wasn't bulky or anything, but she was no string bean either; even from the side she could see that the woman had a grin on her face much resembling the kind of grin Faith was known for…other people thought that grin was sexy--She thought it was annoying, 'Is it not so annoying on this Molly woman?' Next, she looked at the woman's hair, noticing that it was up sloppy, but it seemed to be purposely put up that way, 'Hmm,' and then the tattoos, 'Huh,' and then she watched the woman slide some shot glasses down towards them, twirl a few bottles, open a few RedBulls, and make their drinks--And shoot a grin in the direction of all three of them, 'It's not like I haven't thought some women were pretty before…how different is pretty from--'

As soon as the shots were ready, Faith took one in her hand, and downed it, slamming the glass back down on the bar-top, "God I've missed that," she looked over at Dawn first, "Go for it kid, Molly ain't gonna card ya," then she looked to Buffy, "Stop staring and take a few before your sister goes overboard."

Buffy shook herself out of her thoughts, "I wasn't staring," well, it was either try to her own answer questions, or face the complete panic and embarrassment that she had left the mansion to escape from. She grabbed a shot, and downed it.

**************************************

"That doesn't make sense," Kennedy said, pacing back and forth, with her arms crossed, "I mean, really, Will, how could that possibly--How could you even be thinking something like that?" this was not how she imagined the conversation, at all. She had imagined it to be light, intense, but light--in a non agree, frustrated, kind of way. And yet, as she paced back and forth, she found herself frustrated. Hence the pacing.

Willow rubbed her forehead, sighing as she did, "It's not like I'm unsure, or that I'm just randomly pulling things out of a hat," feeling that the room was getting hot, she gently pulled on the collar of her shirt, trying to push some cooler air towards her face, "Things just aren't so black and white right now. And…and this really isn't the time to even be talking about this. Can we just not do this right now? I just want to--"

Both their eyes turned to one of the corners of the room, where Shannon suddenly appeared, "I need to talk to you," she said, looking directly at Willow, not acknowledging Kennedy's presence, "It's about the magic from earlier, and what we'll need to do over the next few weeks," finally, she looked to Kennedy, "I'll need to talk to you, Buffy, and Faith as well, but obviously I'll wait until tomorrow to do that," she wasn't going to tell Kennedy that Faith, and Buffy, as well as Dawn had gone out--For one thing she figured the woman would figure it out eventually, and secondly she didn't want the slayer in the room to 'magically appear' wherever Faith had gone to.

Kennedy hesitated, her eyes staring at the intruder intensely. Then, she softened her expression, sent a nod in Willow's direction, and headed out the door, "Goodnight."

"The magic from earlier," Shannon began, immediately, "as I'm sure you realized is more ancient than most magic known to man, and it is very dangerous, because so little is known about it. It's the kind of magic that my kind not only uses, but is partly consumed of, and because of that fact, you will have to learn the ways of this magic in order for us to even stand a chance. Being that I was not raised with my kind, I don't know much about this magic, this will be difficult."

"I hadn't thought it would be easy, even before I was exposed to that magic earlier," there had been no thought in her mind related to her using dark magic that had gave a sense of ease at all. Dark magic was her enemy. It was her worst enemy at that; and yet in some ways, one of her closest friend. That, she did not want to think about, "How are we supposed to do this then?"

Shannon walked over to the window in the room, "I'm hoping that I'll be able to find someone that I know, that could give me a few ancient text and scrolls, tomorrow. They were an ally to my mother when she was alive, so I'm hoping that they'll help me as well--Of course that would mean that I'd have to tell them who I am," placing her hand on the window, she stared out at the moon high in the sky, having that urge to change the weather--Feeling that call to make the outside imitate what she was feeling inside. Because then she would be able to identify it herself, "I thought about this yesterday actually, and pinpointed all the risks that I could think of, which enabled me to come up with a plan of emergency. There are four things sacred to my kind--Our name, our soul, the secret location of our home, and the magic that makes us, which can destroy us as well. These secrets, essentially a knowledge beyond human perception, are usually locked within a vessel who is locked away somewhere…We won't speak of that."

Willow had a feeling she didn't want to hear about that anyways; even without going into any details she had felt herself become nauseous, so she could only imagine what would happen if she got actual details.

"The vessel recently died, and so the knowledge was spread within the air within the secret area which they are held against their will. Never knowing any beauty of the world, but also never knowing any of the dangers of it. The person is mute, and usually uneducated and barely able to speak, minus the sacred language locked within their brain, because they are consumed from their birth," she sighed, "Many may hate me because of what I've done, but after spending a day here, I have selected someone I think is strong enough to endure the weight of this knowledge, until I am able to somehow redevelop it and shape it into something else."

"Wait," the witch stood, "You can't just pick some random person in this house to do this--whatever this is--to. First of all, no one will volunteer 'cause it sounds crazy. And second, neither Faith, Kennedy, or…" she looked down for a moment, and then continued, "Buffy would let you do this. I get that--"

"No, you don't get anything," she said, aggressively, making the witch flinch, "I am not doing this so I can gain this knowledge for myself, or for anyone in this house. I am doing this just incase we lose and the only hope for this world is to practically destroy everything that I am! I am doing this so Marcus won't have that power. And I am doing this because it is the right thing to do, whether I want to or not; whether you want to or not; or whether anyone wants to or not. So no matter what anyone says, this is our best bet of survival."

What could she say to that? She knew that no one else in the house would agree to it. Not ever, but obviously the woman had plans of her own, and who could really stop her from going out and doing anyways? Who could stop her from choosing someone to bestow something that sounded so awful on?

Shannon sighed, "I already have," yes, she had read the woman's mind, and she wasn't going to apologize, or explain how, or anything like that, "I didn't force them. I chose them, sent them to one of my homes here in this realm, and after seeing all that I left--all my writings, and explanations, they have agreed to it. Seeing that they are educated, and know this world better than most, they won't have to be locked away. They can come live here with all of us. However, they must never speak, unless speaking to me in a language that none of you will understand, and that I will barely understand. It was their choice."

Willow frowned, "Who?" she was angry even without knowing who the woman was talking about; feeling that magic that she had been exposed to swarming within in the air she was breathing, trying to warm its way within her.

The woman lifted her arm, pointing over to the corner she had come from, and out from the shadow, Remy stepped forward.

**************************************

Nope, there was no escaping it. Even while she let her eyes roam as she danced to the rhythm of the song, feeling the bass rattle her insides, she felt panic and embarrassment. It was because she knew she'd have to go back. Eventually, she'd have to go back, and even if she didn't sleep in the witch's room from that point on, they would still see each other. There was only so much avoiding she could do with an apocalypse in sight, 'I can't believe I almost did that. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stu--"

"Relax," Faith said, getting Buffy's attention. She and the blonde slayer had been dancing in front of each other for a while, and she had slowly noticed Buffy's expression change from a curious smile, to a look of confusion, panic, and something else that she couldn't pick up on, "Whatever you're thinking about--Stop thinking about it. We came here to get anything from that house out of our mind, and I'll be damned if you don't do just that," she looked over to Dawn, who was dancing near them, but not exactly with them. There a few women next to the girl, some of them eying her, others just dancing, not seeming to notice anyone else in the room. Dawn, at the moment, looked like one of those women, "D's let it all go. Now we've just gotta get you there, too," she herself had let it all go. There was no reason to worry, when there was no sight of any kind of danger around them. She didn't feel the slightest bit of evil anywhere around them, "Just relax."

Buffy simply nodded, trying to push everything aside. It just wasn't that easy. Still, she was going to try. She was going to try to enjoy herself, while also ignoring some of the lusty looks being sent in her little sister's direction, 'As long as they're just looking--Oh, oh, who is she talking to?' before she could make her way over to her sister, Faith had stepped closer to her, shaking her head as if she had read hear mind. At this point, it was either dance with Faith, or whoever she felt behind her, because there was no way she was going to get past the brunette slayer with all the other women around them. So, dancing it was. She let her body relax and move more to the rhythm of the pounding music, which it did so naturally. Her head tilted back slightly, she took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly; the lights playing across the room; the heat coming from every direction.

"There you go, that's it," perhaps it was wrong of her, but she couldn't stop herself from stepping over that boundary placed between her and the other slayer. A boundary that had been set in place years ago, but didn't seem relevant to who they were as they danced that very moment. She would start light; a few grazes of the skin.

'Is it just me, or is Faith still getting closer to--Yep, that was skin my hand just grazed,' debating whether she was going to say something, simply put more space between them, or find some excuse to walk away, Buffy turned to face the other direction, unsure of whether she wanted to watch a series of different expressions spread across Faith's face. She had seem them all before, though not particularly up close and personal. However, as soon as her back was turned to the other slayer, Faith completely stepped into her bubble, and pressed the front of her body against Buffy's back, 'Ah, what is she…what…is…'

"Just a little fun, B," fun? Yeah, a part of her was enjoying just the thought of how extremely uncomfortable she knew she was making the blonde, but then there was another part of her--A part that she had not surfaced in a long time, and it was ready to fully make it's comeback. It had been a long time, after all, since she had done anything, beside cuddling, which she had had little experience with, and though she wasn't necessarily looking to have sex with the blonde slayer--despite the lingering thought of stamina in the back of her mind--she was craving that physical contact; the frictional heat.

'Just a little fun. I can be fun. I like fun--Why doesn't this seem like it's only for fun?' for some reason, her body was fighting her thoughts. It wasn't trying to question anything, or pull away, or even caring who exactly was now running their hands down her sides as they began to grind against her…'Brain do something!' but there was no kind of reaction, and even she was starting to wonder if she wanted there to be a reaction. Her head tilted back, her eyes closing as it did, and she for an instant she felt the other's slayers breath against her neck--Could hear her breathing oddly in her ear, as they both continued to move with the blaring sound, 'This is--Faith and I, are we really doing this?' everyone knew that girls that were just friends danced with each other all the time when they went out. It was harmless; it was fun; it attracted a few sleazy guys--What they were doing didn't seem so harmless, and it definitely wasn't to attracted any man, or woman seeing that every other person in the club was a woman.

'She's not fighting me,' Faith thought, just before fully letting herself move. She hadn't been able to do that exactly, since she was unsure of how Buffy would react to her being so forward, while also not being forward, really. But, because the blonde didn't show any signs of suddenly turning to hit her in the face, Faith just let herself take her own advice. Just in time for Buffy to turn and face her with an expression she had never seen before--not on the blonde's face. Her eyes were darker than usual, which Faith instantly understood, but was not going to fully acknowledge. She knew, in the back of her mind, she knew that both of them weren't out there to get with one another. They had not come with that plan, and she was sure they weren't going to leave with that plan. However, they could in that moment, pretend that that was the plan. They could dance with each other; get each other riled up, even. Because this was probably as much as they would get before it all began.

Buffy felt her body begin to heat up faster, seeming to be on fire each and every time their bodies touched. She knew part of it was the whole slayer connection bit, but that didn't matter. They weren't slayers in that moment. They were just two people, letting a little bit of their pint up energy out, while also seeming to be on the verge of jumping each other's bones. Their eyes met, 'I've never seen her look so…Is it just her, and Willow? They are two different kinds of attractive…' her thought wandered. Vanishing at some points, and then consuming her at others.

'Okay, B, now just don't do anything stupid, and we'll be fine,' unsurprisingly, Buffy had somehow managed to do exactly that while adjusting to the changing song; she had managed to touch a few areas that Faith considered to be equivalent to letting an animal out of it's cage, ranging from the bottom of her stomach, to the base of her breasts. She leaned forward, putting her lips close to the other slayer's ear, "Don't tempt me," she whispered, taking in a breath, which only brought in the smell of the other slayer. She could smell that need beneath the surface; the one she knew was crawling within her as well.

'Don't tempt her? What did I do? This is her fault--Brain?' as Faith pulled back, she found herself staring at lips for the second time that night, 'Attracted to women? Check. Since when? Question mark,' their eyes met again, and this time she was able to catch Faith's wandering eyes as well. The brunettes hands seem to wander just as her eyes; her hands slightly grazing the skin beneath the blondes shirt, which sent electorate shocks through Buffy instantly. Then, the brunette's eyes landed on her lips, and as if getting a sudden signal of 'Go!' or 'Now!' Buffy and Faith both began to lean in--Both wondering, in the back of their mind, what it would mean if they let it happen.

However, just as Faith felt the breath of the slayer on her lips, she also felt something else, and stopped--To be more specific, she felt someone else. Someone familiar, and it wasn't Dawn. She opened her eyes fully, and looked at Buffy, who had tensed, and knew that she had been right. Next, she turned around, and waited, until she saw someone walking towards her, 'Kennedy.'

"Hey, guys," Kennedy said, as she approached, having not seen the close call between the other two slayers.

Buffy backed away slightly, noticing that she was still awfully close to Faith, even with the woman not facing her. She could sense Faith's tension; could feel her uneasiness. Maybe because they had just let their slayer connections go far beyond what it had ever gone, 'Maybe she realized what just happened actually almost happened.'

It was true, part of Faith was still with the blonde slayer behind her, but most of her was with the person walking towards her. The one person she wanted to escape was walking up to her; all the emotions that she had pushed to the back of her head were starting to consume her all over again. And there she was, "What are you doin here?" she asked.

"Figured this is where you'd be," Kennedy grinned, looking around, "You weren't kidding when you said you were going to go out," she looked over Faith's shoulder to see Buffy eying them, wondering if the blonde had expected her to tell they needed to go home, or something. No, they didn't need to go home, and she had no plans on going back for at least a few hours, "Dance with me," she said, as she began to dance even with the other brunette simply standing there. She moved seductively, making sure to graze her friend repeatedly, smiling when Faith started to dance with her.

Dawn approached her sister, surprising her more than she had meant to by touching the blondes shoulder, but then they both just watched as Kennedy and Faith started to dance. Faith seemed a little uneasy in the beginning, but eventually, both brunettes were at the same level. Their eyes never left the others as they moved, hands slightly roaming, mouths slightly open. But, after a moment, Buffy did start to notice Kennedy's eyes shift slightly. Every time someone else looked they were even thinking about getting closer to Faith to dance with the woman, Kennedy would shoot them a look, before bringing her eyes back to Faith's. Faith, they knew, was oblivious to the whole thing, because her eyes seemed to be glued to Kennedy.

Dawn frowned, "You seeing what I'm seen?" she asked, "'Cause yeah, you and Faith were a little too close for comfort a few seconds ago, but those two--Something's not right. Not that it's wrong, but…"

Buffy could hear the girl rambling, but she wasn't paying attention to what she was saying. She was wondering about something, and not necessarily whether Faith and Kennedy had something going on, because in that moment, it seemed obvious to her that Faith felt something for Kennedy. There was something different about the way she moved, and her eyes weren't solely filled with lust. What she didn't understand however, was the look in Kennedy's eyes. A look she didn't like at all. Then it dawned on her, 'Faith is Kennedy's best friend, so maybe us being here, or being invited to go out originally wasn't just some coincidence. Maybe this was to get me out of the house, and away from Willow, so Kennedy could get in there,' her eyes narrowed, 'Maybe that didn't work out so well, and so now she's here, with Faith who obviously cares more than she lets on…' she thought about the time when Remy told her about Kennedy leaving Faith's room in the mornings, after a night of who knows what, 'Wow, Faith, Kennedy's--'

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Yay!! Streamers!! I'm done, I'm done, I'm done. Okay, it's late, and I'm not supposed to be up, and I have school tomorrow--I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! I know it turned out longer than it was supposed to, and that I was a little bit on the teasing side, but that's okay…right? Anyways, I'll be getting the next one up after I've updated a few other things, but it shouldn't be long, and I'm sure I'll 'accidentally' end up typing for this one a lot of the time, anyways. Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think.-*ThomThom*


	10. Yet Another AN

It's summer, and I said that I'd be able to update more once this point hit, but I'm not gonna be near a computer for a while, so the updates are going to slow down…even more. But, when I do get near a computer, I do plan to have a lot already have a lot hand written, so I'll be posting in large packs. Sorry about this. -*ThomThom*


	11. Masters of Avoidance

Well…gee, I know this whole summer writing has not gone well thus far--sorry about that. I'm like…never home. Seriously. Never. I wish I could say things will speed up a little now…but I'm having to move two times in the next two weeks—one with parents, next with college, so I'm super busy. After that though, things should start to be easier for me in this category. Let's see…thanks to all of you who reviewed the last chapter (about 500 yrs ago), I really appreciate it, and am glad that you're all still enjoying the story. I must admit that this chapter has given me such a hard time!! I started it about 50x before I finally figured out what I was going to do. So…I hope you like what I ended up with. Thanks for reading, and feel free to give an opinion on my overdue overdone chapter.-*ThomThom*

Chapter Eight: Masters of Avoidance

Faith huffed, "That's bullshit."

Giles, who was standing on the other side of the living room, rubbed his forehead, and sighed, "Yes, well, whatever your opinion may be on the matter is currently irrelevant," he looked at the three women on the couch—Shannon on one end, Willow in the middle, and Faith on the other side, "However," his voice was stern, and his face as serious as he could possibly make it, "before you decide to do anything with any of these girls, who are our responsibility and not yours, you need to talk to us. We may not have much knowledge in terms of your kind, but that does not change the fact that we have a right to be told when your plans may harm any of us in any way."

Kennedy, who was standing in the entryway, next to a very silent Buffy, raised her hand slightly, "So, what, that's it? She gets a 'don't do that again' lecture, and she's free to go and wander around this place doing god knows what?"

"There's not much else we can do, Kennedy," Willow said, kindly. She understood the frustration of the group. Shannon had completely crossed the line approaching Remy about becoming some sort of vessel, there was no doubt about that, but she also understood that they had to look at the bigger picture, "And, even though Shannon did go to Remy behind our backs, it was Remy who actually agreed to it, and…there's nothing we can do about it right now," despite her own feelings on the situation, Willow understood that they probably didn't have time to sit around arguing about this all the time. They had things to do, and they most likely didn't have much time to do it, "We finally have all the plans on what's going to happen over the next few weeks, so now we need to get started," really, her part outside of her lesson plan—also known as fun creepy magic time with Shannon—was beyond daunting, but at the same time, she wanted to get it over with. However dangerous that way of thinking may have been, considering the skill it required to even perform the dark magic she had once used, she could not help but feel that way. None of them really had a clue, and that wasn't their fault, but it was true. None of them could have possibly understood the fear that came with just the thought of tampering with such an ancient form of dark magic.

Buffy glanced over at Willow. She could see it in the witch's face; that fear and anxiety that lay beneath the surface, almost threatening to boil over. Her first instinct was to try to reassure the woman; to tell her that everything would be okay, and that she'd be there like she always was, but she couldn't say a word. In fact, she could barely look at her for more than a second before the scene from two nights before played in front of her, seeming to be on everlasting repeat. When that happened, she had to look away, "Well, let's start tomorrow, then. It's late now, so there'd really be no point in doing anything, but we can round up the girls, tell them what's in store. The ten that are leaving need to start packing."

"They need to be packed by the end of the night," Shannon said, finally breaking her silence. She had just sat there the whole time, listening to each of them go back and forth, and occasionally talk at her. What could she do or say that would make them feel better about Remy? There was nothing, and so she had said nothing. They had come together multiple times to discuss the issue since Remy had returned; a series of four meetings over the span of two days, when all training was done, and all of the girls were too tired to try to listen from around the corner, "The first destination is set; I've already gotten everything in order, and so tomorrow is the best day to leave."

"And where exactly is this first destination?" Faith asked, not even trying to hide the fact that she was still angry at the woman. She couldn't imagine a day where she wouldn't be mad at her from that point on. Even if there was some bigger plan beyond their understanding that would completely benefit them in the end, she just couldn't let it go; she couldn't see Remy the way she was, and let it go.

Shannon completely understood Faith's anger; she had expected it from all of them. However, she wasn't going to let it get in the way of things, "I've decided that the only one that needs to know that information is me and Giles," there was that huff again, and that rolling of the eyes coming from Faith's direction, "I'm sorry, but I don't think that my kind, in the middle of trying to kill you, is going to yell out exactly what kind of change they're going to be making to the environment to get the job done," the frustration could be heard. Being constantly questioned, and criticized wasn't something that she was used to at all, "I will, however, tell you to pack light, and to bring tents."

"So, no cold icy weather," Buffy assessed, out loud. If there was one thing she had learned to do over the years, it was piece things together for her own benefits, "You don't pack light when you're subject to freeze to death," she explained, when everyone looked in her direction.

Kennedy nodded, "Makes sense," she looked to Giles, "And, which of us exactly will be the first leaders to take the girls to this mystery place?"

"Buffy," the man answered, "And, Faith will be going as well."

All the air seemed to be sucked out of the room. Buffy almost wanted to shout out 'no'; that she wouldn't--couldn't—but what explanation could she give? As if people had not been questioning her behavior enough, seeing that for the past two days she had been sleeping on the couch at night, and avoiding Willow and Faith as much as possible. Instead, she simply nodded, and said, "Okay."

Faith looked over at the blonde slayer, unsure of what to feel about the whole situation. They had some unresolved tension that needed to be taken care of, she knew that, and she knew that Buffy knew it as well, the only problem was the fact that Buffy wasn't talking to her—at all. That wouldn't exactly work out so well wherever they were going, "Fine," she looked over to Kennedy, who met her eyes in that moment, and then looked away.

"Let's all just try to remember to stay focused. We can't afford to get distracted right now. Are there any questions?" everyone shook their head, "Okay, well, then I'll be leaving. I'll be back in the morning before anyone leaves. Goodnight."

"Night," everyone said, in unison, except for Shannon, who was staring into space.

Willow stood up, "I'll walk you out."

Giles gave a slight smile, "Thank you, Willow."

As Willow walked by, Buffy tried to avoid looking at her. As if she hadn't made things awkward by almost kissing her best friend, she had also managed to not talk to her in more days than they hadn't talk in years. Two days might have seemed like nothing to some, but two days for the two of them—it felt like a life time. No matter how much she tried, she had to look, and as soon as she did let her eyes wander, as the redhead walked by her, their eyes met. There was a look in the woman's eyes; one that spoke of things other than the dread of using extreme forms of dark magic—she was sad. The woman paused, staring back at her intently, making Buffy feel as if she would crumble. She felt as if she had ruined everything. Like everything they had accomplished as friends before had suddenly been erased. All that she could see now was what she had almost done, 'I bet that's all she sees when she looks at me,' she looked away from those emerald green eyes, and left the room.

**************************************

Faith walked out of the bathroom, fresh from the shower, with a towel around her. She had been waiting all night to take a shower, seeing that being part of the leaders meeting meant she had to be at the end of the shower line. Lucky for her, and she completely appreciated this fact, the girls in her hallway were not messy, and so the shower was clean, 'Maybe we should invest in getting one of those locker room type showers…more than one,' she thought, as she made her way to her room. It was late and so the house was starting to quiet down a bit, minus the few exceptions of a few girls talking in their rooms, and laughing way too loud. If it would have been 'normal' times in the mansion, then that wouldn't have been the case, and she knew it, 'One good thing about impending doom….silence….or the closest I'll probably ever get to it,' that wasn't something she was going to think about; the future—her future, and what it may of held.

She walked into her room, and sighed in relief, happy to see her bed, but not so happy with the fact that there was no television in the room. There wasn't much of a chance of her instantly falling asleep; no matter how tired she was, because she had so many things running through her mind. There was the slayer stuff; the traveling to train, questions about what exactly they were up against, questions of whether they really knew the truth about why they were fighting. Then there was other stuff; whether she was going to be able to handle everything that came with living in the main mansion. Living in the main mansion meant having to see Kennedy constantly try to get back with Willow, dealing with Buffy—who was not talking to her, and avoiding her as much as possible, and teenybopper drama—which she really didn't care about as long as it didn't cause a huge fight, 'Kids will be kids, I guess….'

After putting on some shorts, and a shirt, she sat on her bed—Just sat there for what seemed like forever, thinking about something that had happened earlier. It was something that added onto a pile of questions she already had, 'What the fuck is goin on with Red and B?' she had noticed the look they had exchanged; noticed how intently Willow had tried to keep eye contact with the blonde slayer, and she had also noticed a look of regret on Buffy's face. For days, she had wondered, and she had a feeling she would keep wondering. There had to be something; something that made the blonde move out of Willow's room, and avoid her at all cost, 'Something that happened the night we went out,' that itself was a whole different matter. One she actually hadn't given much thought to, but she had a feeling that she would have to really give it some thought soon enough, because she hadn't exactly given that night any kind of label, 'Was it just some harmless fun? A little bit of built up stuff from both of us not getting any?' it really didn't matter at the moment.

There was a knock at her door, instantly pulling her out of her thoughts. It wasn't Kennedy, she knew that, and it wasn't Buffy either. Considering that there weren't many people that came to her room, she figured it could only be one person, "I ain't talkin to you. Nothin to say," though she hoped that that would be the end of it, deep down, she knew it wouldn't be, and of course, Shannon appeared in the room, "I said…"

"And, I heard," she walked a little ways into the room, moving to lean against the woman's dresser, "I think that we should talk, and not just because you're obviously pissed at me about this whole Remy thing, but because we've both got all this shit running through our heads and no one to talk to…not that I need someone to talk to."

"No, you already said it, now. You can't take it back," a few days before, she would have been amused by those words; there would have been some teasing, and things would have been light, but at the moment…she just couldn't see that happening, "I just…"

"Look," the woman interrupted, "I know that you don't understand what I did…"

"It's not that I don't understand, it's just—Remy is…she's like family to me," family—she was like family. That word wasn't one that she really ever used once; a word she didn't really understand once, and yet it felt right. They had lived in the same house, spent time with each other, gripped at each other, played pranks on each other, bought things for each other…Remy was like, "She's like the little sister I never had, okay, and you just went and fucked her up," she saw that Shannon was about to say something, and continued, "And, so what, she's technically okay? She's not the Remy I know. She's not going to go around acting like some weird creature that knows everything, and always seems to be up to no good. And, so I'm sorry if that makes me not want to talk to you right now. Actually, I'm not even sorry about that. You brought it on yourself."

"I understand. Trust me, I do, understand," she paused for a moment, seeming to look off into the distance…like everything within her had simply left the room for a single moment, "But, I promise you that no harm will come to her. If anything, she's the safest person on the planet right now, and I know," she added quickly, seeing Faith's expression—basically saying that she didn't give a damn—"I know that doesn't really mean much to you right now, but it's true. And, if it means anything, I am sorry that I had to do it that way, but it was the only way it could be done."

Despite her anger towards the woman, she could sense that the woman was being sincere in her apology, though it was immediately followed by a sort of selfish statement, "Okay," that was the only thing she could think to say. She didn't really feel like going back and forth with the woman anymore, and though she was still angery, she felt that maybe she should at least try to let it go, and understand…some of it, "You come in here to say that?"

"Well, minus a few words in between, I've already said that to you a couple times, actually. But, no that's not why I came in here. I came in here to listen to something other than my own thoughts for just a few minutes," that was the truth. She too had a lot going through her mind; too much. It was to a point where she was starting to feel overwhelmed—not exactly a feeling she was used to, "And seeing how all of you 'leaders' are acting around one another these days, I figured you maybe had a lot you maybe wanted to talk about."

Faith crossed her arms, "Wow, everything you do is some kind of selfish act. You only do the whole 'let's take a walk' routine so you can stop yourself from going crazy. I mean, I should have known that, because…you've definitely proved that you're out for you and you alone, but you saying what you just said really confirms that fact."

"Sure," Shannon said, simply.

Her brows rose, "Sure? That's all you have to say to that? No smart aleck remark…no humans are so beneath me, or anything like that?" the woman shrugged in response, "You're really that desperate aren't you?"

Another shrug, "Sure. Now, start with what you were thinking about right before I came in, because I have a feeling that I know exactly what you were thinking about, because I gave it a few—and I mean a few—seconds of thought as well."

"I don't know…" was she really going to talk to the woman that had done something that completely pissed her off? Was she really going to help her escape all the crap that was in her mind, even though the woman was sneaking behind all of their backs doing god knows what? 'Well, it's not like she wasn't right about the whole…no one to talk to, but shit, I ain't that weak. I can deal. I used to deal all the time, and not talk to anyone…though, that didn't go so well back in the day,' she sighed aloud, "Can you like, teleport a tv in here, or something before we start this thing?"

Shannon frowned, "A television? Seriously?" she paused, "Fine."

**************************************

Buffy walked out onto the front porch, finding Dawn sitting on the steps, "You been out here all night?" she asked, taking a seat beside her sister. She hadn't really thought about the fact that Dawn wasn't at the meeting until an hour or so after it was over, but once she had, she had walked through the whole place looking for her. The only place she hadn't checked was outside, and since the backyard was empty, if Dawn was somewhere on the property, the front porch was where she had to be, "I've been looking for you."

The younger woman smiled, "Well, you would have known where I was if you would have asked say….Willow," not that everyone didn't know that Buffy was avoiding the redhead, but Dawn really knew, because she had asked her about it. Of course, Buffy hadn't really told her anything—yet—but she had admitted to avoiding Willow. She had yet to ask about the Faith aspect of it, 'Willow first, then Faith,' both of them were silent for a few moments, just sitting, staring up at the stars. Dawn too had a lot on her mind. Beyond feeling trapped, she also felt odd keeping a secret from everyone in the house. Not that she usually went around blabbing things to people, anymore, but a keeping a major secret, that may be important—that was something she wasn't really used to. It was getting hard to look people in the face; people like Shannon especially, who she felt had to know that she knew something. The woman always looked at strangely, 'I wonder if she's like breaking into my mind or something…or wouldn't I notice that…wait, isn't she not so good with the magic?' she looked over to Buffy, "So, I just thought about something."

"Really?" her brows rose, "It didn't happen to be a thought about making brownies, did it? Because I was just thinking--," Dawn made a face, one that she had actually expected to see, because of course Dawn was not thinking about making brownies, 'She can't even cook…' despite the fact that she didn't want to discuss anything serious, she knew that Dawn wasn't going to let her walk back into the mansion, without trying to pry in some kind of way, "I'm kidding…What is it?"

"Well, I remember, back when Shannon first came, that she said she didn't really do much of the whole magic thing. She said that the spell she used to hide would wear off soon, because she doesn't really know much of about magic," it really amazed her that all the leaders in the house had managed to forget a whole part of the grand speech Shannon had given the day she had arrived, "So…then how is she going to teach Willow anything about an ancient form of magic that Willow—who's like…one of the most powerful witches in the world, and has gotten up close and personal with dark magic—didn't even know existed?"

Buffy thought for a moment, "Well, considering that Shannon obviously has ways of getting things done, I'm sure she'll find a way," she didn't like this. Not one bit. Dawn was right, Shannon had said that she wasn't really into magic, and so how exactly was she going to teach Willow anything? 'I'm sure she has some kind of plan, but I would prefer to know the exact details of how she's going to do this, and I'm sure Willow would like to know too,' that was something, as well, 'Has Willow even asked her about it?'

Dawn shrugged, "I don't know, Buffy. I mean, I'm sure Shannon does have some kind of plan, but considering that Willow's your best friend, maybe you should take a deeper interest than that," this was how she was going to do it. Sure, she was genuinely concerned and interested, but she also wanted to know what had happened between Buffy and Willow, "Maybe you should talk to Willow and see what she knows."

"Or, maybe, I should just go straight to Shannon," they both knew that that would probably be pointless. The woman wasn't really one to share her plans with everyone. They would never really know every detail of the situation, which was something that she really didn't like, but all things being considered—she didn't really have time to fight that fact. She could—she could go in there, wherever the woman was, and demand answers, and threaten her, but she wasn't sure it would do much good. If Shannon were to decide to leave, and it was true that her death would be extremely bad for everyone on the planet…well, it wouldn't be worth the fight. Plus, she had sort of made a promise to Willow, "But I doubt she'd be that helpful."

"So, you're going to talk to Willow, then?" Dawn asked, not even hiding her excitement. But Buffy was already shaking her head no; not in a urgent kind of way, but a slow way, which let her know that her sister really wasn't going to talk to the witch, "Buffy, you aren't really going to try to avoid her forever, are you? Whatever happened, it's not worth this; it's not worth putting your friendship on the line."

"I already did that," the blonde said, quietly. Almost kissing a friend, she knew, had to have consequences, and she couldn't see them being good. The word consequences itself had its own bad connotations. Even if there were some kind of…possibility, the changes, and the conversations, and all of that—those were things she couldn't imagine. Things would be so different, 'Obviously should have thought of that before I started leaning in,' she huffed, ignoring that Dawn was sitting beside her, 'I just—there was something in that moment, and I couldn't stop myself. What is that?'

"You're thinking about it, aren't you?" there was a look on the blonde's face; one that told her that Buffy was pondering the events, whatever the events were. All she knew was that it had to have been right before they had gone out with Faith, "That's why you wanted to go out with Faith that night, isn't it? To run," to run. Those words, she felt, were a little bold. Everyone that had known Buffy for years, or had been told the stories of Buffy's younger days, knew that the woman had had a habit of running from her problems. It had been so long, though, since Dawn had seen her sister react that way to anything. Nonetheless, she still recognized it immediately, and she wasn't one to let things go.

To run. She hadn't really thought about it like that specifically, though she had obviously felt the need to leave, but she had only actually left once Kennedy had entered the room. What would have happened if Kennedy wouldn't have walked in? Would she have stayed? "I don't know," that was the most she had really said to Dawn about what had happened that night. The details weren't ones she was really feeling secure in talking about, 'Not before I sort it out in my own mind,' but that, she wasn't sure was even a possibility. Things were so confusing.

"Too bad that didn't really work out, huh?" now she would move forward. Buffy wasn't going to go into the Willow situation, 'Yet,' she could see that, so there was one more issue that she wanted to attempt talking about, "You're avoiding Faith, too, now. Is it because of the whole…"

Buffy laughed, "It's not so much Faith that I have any kind of issue with. Though that was…interesting to say the least," if she hadn't of done the almost kiss thing with Willow, she knew that it would have been Willow she would have been talking to about Faith—though if the almost kiss wouldn't have happened, she probably wouldn't have gone out with the other slayer. It was a possibility, but one that wouldn't have been as likely, had she not been needing a way out. Yet another thing that would seem different after that night; talking to Willow about Faith, "It's more of a Kennedy and," she stopped, and this time it wasn't because she didn't want to go into the details, because she was pretty sure that Dawn was in the same arena on the 'Kennedy and Faith' topic. Something was reaching for her—

Dawn frowned, "Uh, you gonna finish that sentence, 'cause I have a feeling that I know where it's going, and I've gotta tell you—I was wondering about that, especially after," as if she weren't talking at all, Buffy rose to her feet, further confusing Dawn, "Buffy, what's--?"

She could feel it, like something was crawling around in her skull, searching for something. Like it was picking its way through; stumbling to be more accurate, in a chaotic kind of way. Frantic, "Scared," she said, aloud, closing her eyes.

"What?" she stood up, "Who's scared? Buffy, what's going on?"

Her eyes shot open, just as she heard a whisper, "Willow," this time she didn't hesitate, or try to fight that pull. Something was wrong; more specifically, something was wrong with Willow, and before she knew it, she was running towards the woman's room, passing a few straggling slayers on the way. There was no time to answer any questions Dawn was calling out behind her, or time to tell the younger woman to be quiet, which is what she really wanted. If there was silence, she could hear her, though not understanding what she was saying. She would just have to get there; to keep going until she saw that she was okay, but she knew that she wasn't—things were happening; she heard a window shatter; and a couple light bulbs shattered in the hall she was running down making it dark, but she didn't need the light.

She reached the door, turning the knob so quickly that she didn't even have time to notice that it was locked. If it hadn't of been for the broken window blowing the curtains around, and therefore letting light in from the moon, she wouldn't have been able to see anything; she wouldn't have been able to see a few items in the room hovering in the air, or Willow's shaking body, "Willow," she called, running over to the bed, the door slamming shut behind her, "Willow," the woman's eyes were closed tightly, her fists were clinched at her sides, and there was a thin layer of sweat covering her face. Buffy touched her, reached to try to wake her up, and was surprised by how cold the woman was, "Willow open your eyes. You have to open your eyes," her voice was shaky; full of the fear that she was feeling. She didn't know what was going on; she didn't know what to do, "Come on Will. Please," she put her hands on the redhead's face, pushing some strands of hair out of the way, "I don't know what to do? What do I do?" she really didn't want to leave the room, but she knew she was going to have to go get someone. She would need to go find Shannon, or call Giles; someone needed to help her, because she had no clue how to—but as soon as she moved to leave, a hand gripped one of her own, "Willow," the woman's eyes were now open wide, and panicked, but black instead of green, "It's okay."

With her mouth still closed, Willow began to cough. First slightly, and then harder and harder, but still with her mouth closed. She turned over suddenly, keeping Buffy's hand within her own, and water poured out of her mouth. Her heart was pounding, and at first she struggled to take in a breath, squeezing Buffy's hand as hard as she could.

Buffy was trying so hard not to go into a panic as her friend turned back onto her back. She was obviously having trouble breathing—couldn't take in breath, actually---but she still didn't know what to do, "It's okay, calm down, just breath," was it that simple? She hoped that it was, because if it wasn't, she was screwed, "Come on Will," the woman was staring at her, not blinking, and her eyes still wide, and black. And then she did it. She gasped for air for what seemed like forever, her chest rising and rising, and then she let it out, "There you go. You're fine, it's okay," she pulled the woman up, pulling her close to her, and wrapping her arms around her, "It's okay. It's over," whatever it was. She rubbed the woman's back, trying to calm her, as Willow continued to breathe heavily, and shake against her. Anything that had been hovering dropped, some things breaking, others just falling back into the place, as Willow started to breathe a little more evenly, eventually wrapping her arms around the blonde just as tightly.

"I'm okay," she said, still finding it a little difficult to breathe. She knew she had scared her. Buffy had never seen her like that; had never been there before to see it, but it was nothing new to Willow, "I'm okay," something in the corner of the room caught her eye, and she froze—it was a shadow. A figure that she couldn't make out.

Buffy felt her friend tense up, she pulled back, needing to look at her face, and saw that Willow, once again green eyed, was looking somewhere in the room. Of course, she turned to look as well, immediately going into defense, and instantly prepping herself to stand and fight, but when she turned to look, there was no one there—nothing there. She turned back to Willow, "Hey…you're okay."

She looked to Buffy, their eyes meeting, and nodded. As if all the outside world had been cut off before, they suddenly noticed someone was trying to get into the room. Willow figured that she may have managed to get the attention of the whole house if things had gotten really bad. In fact, she was sure they had to have gotten bad, because she hadn't even realized she had forced herself into Buffy's mind, but seeing that she still felt as if part of herself was still in there, she knew that she had to have done it. And, she knew who was outside the door as well. Hesitatingly, she reached for Buffy's hand, getting the blonde to look back over to her, instead of at the door, which seemed to have been stuck—probably because the magic was still leaking from within her.

Gulping, Buffy looked down at their hands, and then at Willow. Her heart was still pounding, she hadn't noticed it before, but it was, and just when she was about to question what had just happened, the room door opened, and there was Kennedy in the doorway.

"Are you okay?" she asked, of course looking directly at Willow, "The door was closed, and I was calling for you, but you weren't responding," finally, she looked over to Buffy, "I've got it from here, so…"

Before Buffy could even possibly protest, Willow spoke, "No," she said it more urgently than she had meant to, and so she looked down for a moment, and then back to Kennedy, "We're fine. I want—I want her to stay."

Kennedy stared at Willow for a moment, and Buffy swore that they had to be saying something to one another. The brunette slayer was obviously worried, and wanted to take care of Willow, "Will…" she looked at her for a moment longer, and then looked to Buffy, her eyes hard. Then she left the room, practically slamming the door behind her.

Willow sighed.

Buffy once again was unsure of what to do. For a moment, she just sat there, a million questions running through her mind. Then she laughed, slightly, "Don't think she likes me very much right now," of all the things that could have, or should have, been said, that was all she really could think to say at that very moment.

"Probably not," she let go of the blonde's hand, and then leaned back against her headboard, "We need to talk, Buffy."

**************************************

Faith changed the channel again, her head titled slightly, as she did so, "It's just crazy, you know?" for a moment, she paused, taking a moment to actually see if the channel had anything interesting on, but nope—another click of the remote, "But, at the same time, it figures. I mean, I doubt there has ever been a time when the world was ending, and those guys didn't have some kind of drama outside of that. Now, I'm part of the group, and I've got outside shit to deal with, too."

Shannon, put her hand on the remote, "Leave it there, I like this one," Faith, who was sitting beside her on the bed, gave her a sideways look, "Don't judge me," the slayer merely shrugged, and put the remote down, to her satisfaction, "I've heard many tails about the drama that seems to follow these people around; including the times when you were the center of this drama—you were 'the' drama," oh yes, she knew all about that. There was no way she was going to approach the slayers without getting a good history of the main two—the original two that weren't only slayers because of a massive spell that Willow had performed, "As long as Buffy's whole life isn't slaying, and yours as well, really—there will be drama. And not so much drama, but just things that come with having emotions. Buffy's tendency to like people she shouldn't is her problem. It always leads to one thing after another. It's actually mildly entertaining."

"What?" she laughed, "You would think that," she had never experienced actual teenage drama, but she imagined that it was a little bit like what she was experiencing. You got your friends acting weird, and doing stupid things; liking of the best friend, who is trying to get back with their ex, who was currently having her own best friend drama. Yep, she imagined that it was a little like that. After a moment, she spoke again, "I could see that."

"Good, it'll make things easier to deal with, 'cause," she paused, looking at the door, "things are about to get even more interesting—and yet, frustratingly stupid at the same time."

Before she could question the woman, she was gone, and someone was walking into her room. She first, not really paying attention, turned to protest whoever it was that was entering her room without knocking, but when she saw who it was, she froze.

"Something just happened, and if I don't get this off my chest, I'm going to kill someone," she said, through gritted teeth, as she began to pace back and forth in front of the television.

"Uh, I don't really recommend that route. Been there, done that. Not so much fun," by the look she was receiving from her best friend, she could tell that the jokes weren't really going over well. The thing was, she wasn't really in the mood for any more add-ons to the pile of drama. However, of course, it being Kennedy, she could not simply tell the other woman to leave, 'No, 'cause then I'd feel like shit, and have to deal with that for the rest of the night,' she was going to have to listen; be supportive, and comforting…all of the things that made her life more and more difficult in terms of Kennedy, "What's wrong?"

After walking back and forth a few more times, Kennedy stopped in front of the bed, "Just now, I was in my room, minding my own business, and Willow does her whole suddenly in your head thing calling for me. Of course, I go to see if she's okay, because this stuff can get pretty bad for her—like, dangerously bad. But, when I get there, first the door is locked, so I have to practically break through it, and when I do she tells me that she wants Buffy instead. And guess who just happened to be in there, after not sleeping in our room for days? That's right, Buffy."

She had caught that—the 'our room' part. It stung a little, especially considering that they hadn't lived in the main mansion for a while, but she understood that compared to how much time Kennedy had spent in that room with Willow, the time at the other mansion was nothing, 'Compared to what she has with Willow…our friendship is nothing,' but then again, it was a completely different kind of relationship, and she understood that, but still—"I'm confused…what happened?" all she understood was that something had been wrong, and Kennedy ran to the redhead's aid, only to be shooed away. What was all this dangerously bad stuff?

"I don't know what happened, because when I tried to go find out, Willow fucking kicked me out. I'm so sick of this Buffy bullshit."

'Buffy bullshit,' Faith thought, 'Wow, I'm totally missing something, here,' on one hand, she was hurt, because that obviously meant that Kennedy was no longer telling her anything, but on the other hand, she was curious. She knew that this 'bullshit' had to have had something to do with what had happened the night she had taken Buffy and Dawn out, which meant it probably also had to do with why Kennedy had showed up, instead of taking full advantage of Willow's best friend being out of the house. As much as she wished that Kennedy had shown up that night, just to spend time with her, she knew that couldn't have been the case, because the whole plan was to give Kennedy some alone time with Willow, "Well, at least she'll be gone for a little bit, while we go off to train wherever we're going. That has to be a plus, at least."

Kennedy once again stopped pacing. She looked directly over at Faith, "Not really," they both were silent, each of them pondering those words in some kind of way. Then Kennedy went on, "It's not like she'll be gone forever, and I don't want her to be," she ran her hands through her hair, "I just want her to back off. I'm trying to do this, and she just constantly gets in my way."

There was more to it, and she knew it, and more importantly, she knew that Kennedy knew it as well, "Just let them sort things out. They've been friends for a really long time, Ken, and whatever issue they've got is going to be top of the list, right now. If you try to get in the way of that, it's only gonna hurt you."

"I know. I know that, I do," she sat down at the edge of the bed, "It's just hard, you know? It's hard seeing her everyday, and not being able to tell her that I love her, or being able to kiss her goodnight, or hold her. It's driving me nuts."

Faith sighed, "Just give it some time. I'm sure everything will work itself out."

**************************************

Dawn settled herself in her bed, exhausted from a long day of—well, she really hadn't done much, but she was still tired, 'Maybe it's all the lying and secret keeping I've been doing,' eventually, she knew, she'd have to tell someone that she had seen the girl before. Had actually had a class with her, and talked to her. Especially if something else happened, 'What if another weird thing happens and she shows up again…if she's still alive. What if she isn't?'

"Hello."

She jumped, practically falling out of her bed, at the sound of the voice behind her, 'As if the last few days haven't been hard enough,' hesitantly, she turned over, hoping that there wasn't a demon attached to the voice, 'Yeah, because harmless creatures pop up in rooms all the time,' when she saw that it wasn't a demon, she was relieved, but then again, who it was—they were just as scary to her in that moment, "Shannon."

The woman stood with her arms behind her back, and walked over to the other side of the room, "I think it's interesting; what you are—who you are. It puts us into the same category, in terms of our purpose in life. We were both created to do something for someone else, and were intergraded into the human world for our own protection. And, when we found out, neither of us particularly wanted this life, but here we are," after a moment of saying nothing, and simply staring at nothing, Shannon went and sat at the end of the girl's bed, "How do you know her?"

There it was; the question she had been waiting to hear. The woman may not have been one to go into detail on many things, but there was a certain honesty within her words that made the decision Remy made more understandable, "I had a class with her."

"A class," it sounded somewhat like a question, but it wasn't meant to be one, at all, "That's how…" her eyes left Dawn, as she pieced together a few things she had been wondering about herself. Things were slightly more complicated than she had thought, but all together, it seemed to make sense. She turned to Dawn, "So you know her well?"

Hearing the sort of undertone of excitement within the woman's voice that threw her off, slightly, "Uh, no, actually. I hadn't ever even noticed her until the other day."

"Of course not," she sighed, "She wouldn't let that happen."

"Who is she?" now she was even more curious. Obviously, there was something Shannon wasn't saying about whoever that girl was, 'They had to have known each other…maybe they were close,' she understood, in that moment, Shannon's actions after the girl had been pulled into the portal, 'More secrets,' the woman stood up, heading out of the room, "I'm sorry," Dawn blurted, at the last moment.

Shannon froze at the door, glancing over at Dawn, and then she left the room.

**************************************

Buffy began to make the bed, which she and Willow, had decided to change the sheets on, seeing that Willow had—well, she had spit out water on them, 'What was that?' she asked, herself. Willow had left the room, which had given her time to move past the fact that the redhead had wanted her to stay and not Kennedy, even considering the last time they had been in that room alone together. Now, she was back to worrying, and wondering what the hell had happened when she had entered the room, 'It was like she was drowning in her sleep,' she also noticed the fact that it had been as if the woman had not expected to see her when she opened her eyes. Beyond the shock, and panic at what was happening, there was shock at seeing her face, 'Does she not even know that she…?' she put her hand to her head, closing her eyes, as she did. She could still feel her there. It was a feeling she couldn't describe, like there was a shadow in her mind, simply standing still.

"Sorry about that?" Willow said, as she walked back into the room, haven taken the other sheets to the laundry room, "It should wear off soon. I would just pull myself out, but it can be a little painful…and dangerous. Considering how the night has gone already, I prefer to be as safe as possible, especially since it'd affect you, too."

She could appreciate that, definitely, but there was something not being said, "What happened?" the woman walked over to the bed, beginning to spread the sheet as well, and she couldn't help but be reminded of the dream she used to share with Faith. However, that was quickly pushed aside, "It was like you were drowning in your sleep, or something, and you broke the window," she gestured towards the broken window, the wind still pushing into the room.

"I guess I'll have to call Xander, tomorrow. He's still Mr. Fix-It, no matter how much he tries to avoid this place," the fact that she was trying not to talk about what happened, she knew, was obvious. She had not wanted the blonde to stay so they could discuss the issue of her magic obviously going haywire, 'if that was what happened, this time,' "Buffy…"

"Willow, you scared the hell out of me—what was that? What was happening to you?" for one thing, she wanted to know just incase it happened again, 'I couldn't even do anything…what if she wouldn't have been able to…' her mind stopped there. It had to. There was no way that it could go to that place.

"I'm fine now, it doesn't matter," she sighed, seeing Buffy's expression; the woman was not going to leave it alone, "Sometimes, but not often, I do stuff in my sleep," that was one way to put it; the simplest way, "Uh, I'm not exactly sure what happens, but the magic within me sort of just—it shifts within me. It pushes through me, and sometimes, stuff like that happens."

Buffy frowned, taking in what she was hearing. Willow had never, ever, mentioned anything like that happening to her. They had spent practically every waking moment with one another for six months, and she had not heard a single thing about it, "Willow…have you talked to Giles about this?" the woman shook her head, "I think you should. What if something happens to you? You could…"

"It doesn't happen that often, Buffy, and when it does Kennedy…" all the other times something like that had happened, Kennedy had been there to wake her before she was in a deep sleep; before anything could really happen. In that area, they were connected. There would never be a time when Kennedy would not come running, when her magic was affecting her in her sleep, she had made sure of that, "I'm fine. It's just because of all the spells I've done—some of the magic was just too much for me, but as time goes on, it'll simmer down. I'll grow into it, basically."

"So, what, till then you're just going to take the risk of dying every night, or every time you take a nap?" the slayer questioned.

"It's not every night, Buff, and…"

"You need to talk to Giles. You should have told me—why didn't you tell me?" was that really the issue? The fact that Willow hadn't told her definitely had an affect on her. They were best friends, they were supposed to tell each other everything, and if not everything, than at least everything that was important, 'Magic going haywire and almost killing her is kind of important.'

"I know it is," it had slipped, she had not meant to listen in on her friend, but she had, and by Buffy's expression, she could tell that she didn't appreciate it, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Sometimes that just happens, and…"

"And you think that's okay, right? No big deal as long as you're still breathing later on? Come on, Willow, we both know that things like that…you can't sit back and ignore it."

"I'm not ignoring it, I'm just not going to Giles. He can't fix everything, and I know way more about this than he does. Nobody knows this better than I do, so don't try to tell me what I need to do," she shook her head, "Why are we fighting about this? I promise, I'm okay; you don't have to worry about me."

"How could I not worry?" her voice cracked, "Sorry, I'm a worrier. You're my best friend," her best friend, who she had happened to start to have more than friendly feelings for, 'Which doesn't make this any easier,' after that thought, she looked to Willow, who looked away from her, "Oh you've got to be kidding me…"

Willow opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She watched as Buffy put her hands over her eyes, dying of embarrassment, though that was a little dramatic. As long as the blonde was near her, there was a chance of the magic within her spreading. She couldn't help it, "Buff," she tried, again, and was happy that she could at least say that much, "it's okay. That's what I wanted to talk to you about, because after the other night…"

"No, stop. Stop," she shook her head, "I can't do this right now," her heart started to pound, as the shock and embarrassment, and panic set in. She had been found out completely. There was no chance of her ever being able to say that she had just been tired that night, or any other excuse that may have seemed ridiculous, but may have been bought, "I can't talk about this…"

"Buffy," she approached her friend, going to put her hands on her shoulders, "it's okay. Just talk to me."

"No," moving back, she almost felt as if she were going to pass out; like all the oxygen was being sucked out of the room, despite the open window. She headed for the door, "I'm not ready. I can't."

**************************************

Faith set her bag down on the sidewalk, "Okay, girls, I'm not exactly sure on the detail here, but I'm thinking we just stand here and wait for Giles to get here," early that morning, Giles had called and told them to wake up all the girls, and round them up outside. Why specifically just outside, she did not know, but she figured there was no point in asking. Kennedy had stayed in her room for a while, watching TV with her, and occasionally saying a few more things about Willow. Eventually, she had actually just started to nod, and mumble a few things in response, 'She's actually starting to annoy me a little, but that could be this whole jealousy thing…I'm new at this stuff,' she spotted Buffy walking out of the house, a bag thrown over her shoulder. She had actually been the one to wake the blonde up that morning, but from how she looked—she suspected she hadn't gotten that much sleep, 'Wonder what went down in Red's room.'

The group of ten girls—Sasha, Tammy, Michelle, Miranda who was also know for the fight she caused during the meeting, Jen, Mica, Sydney, Camille, Nikki, and Remy—all set there bags down, and began to talk. Well, except for Remy, who sat on the ground, and pulled out a book. None of them had any clue what they were in store for, but they didn't seem too worried about it, either. The couple was still wrapped up in themselves; the group of girls from the main mansion were still sectioning themselves off from the rest; and Remy…well, no one knew what she was thinking. The group, unlike what Miranda had said days before, was split. Ten from each house, and there was also one leader from each house. That was probably best for their first outing. If it would have been Faith and Kennedy, there probably would have been a problem right away. This way, they'd have to wait to find out.

'Somehow, that isn't comforting,' Faith thought, looking at the group. Buffy still hadn't gotten over to where they were, it was like she was crawling over to them; taking the smallest step ever, 'Oh this is gonna be great,' noticing that the front door of the mansion was opening, her eyes instantly shifted from the blonde to the door. Willow walked out slowly, her arms crossed. She didn't seem like she was going to leave the porch, but, seeing that Buffy had stopped walking completely, and was slightly glancing over her shoulder, Faith figured she didn't have to. Lucky for them, Giles arrived, before Buffy could decide whether she was going to actually go talk to the witch, or ignore her, which she was sure would only lead to Willow approaching her.

"Morning," the man said, as she walked up beside Faith. He spotted Buffy, "Uh, can you come over here, I've got a few things to say to all of you before you leave," he shouted. Then he looked to Faith, "I believe Shannon wanted to say a few words as well."

"Of course she does," Faith looked over at Remy, who was in the process of putting her book away. The girl looked at her for a moment, and smiled slightly, which Faith returned, though hesitantly. That was pretty much the end of their communication. From what she understood, there was nothing else the girl could really do. She could talk, but not in a language they understood, so really—a few gestures were all they had.

Buffy finally reached the group, going to stand by Faith, and Giles, "Sorry, I took so long, I'm a little tired."

"It's okay, we've still got a few lectures to stand through," she knew that whatever had happened in that room, it hadn't been anything productive; Buffy was obviously back to avoiding Willow, and Willow was obviously still not taking that fact very well, 'She has to know.'

"Okay, girls," Giles began, "Today you will be going to your first training destination. We only have a little over a week before the meeting near here, and encounter our enemy for the first time. I suggest you take your training very seriously, and pay close attention to your surroundings at all times," he rubbed his forehead, "Otherwise, you won't be ready, and that would be a great set back."

"He's right," Shannon said, appearing beside the man, "This has to be taken very seriously. It won't be like any training you've ever been through. Do not for a second, while you're out there, forget why you are there in the first place. There will be times where it will be tempting, but try to stay focused. Any second you're not focused will be regretted, I assure you," she took a deep breath, "I wish you good luck."

Buffy, though off in her own world, noticed a change in the woman. She leaned over towards Faith, "Is it just me, or is she not calling all of us pathetic?"

"Nope, she's really not," she too was a little surprised, but Shannon had admitted to having other things on her mind the night before, 'Maybe that's why she's acting so…different,' she picked up her bag, "So, how are we doing this?"

"I'm teleporting you," Shannon answered, "All of you. If there's one thing I can do, it's teleport, so everyone just get your stuff ready, and get a little closer," she watched the gather, "Oh, and keep in mind, anything can happen, at any time…"

"I don't remember that part," Faith frowned.

"Be ready," the woman continued, "I'll be watching you."

*************************************

Willow walked back into the house, closing the door with a sigh. She had hoped… 'I don't know what I thought would happen,' now, she would just have to wait. As she passed the living room, she spotted Kennedy sitting on the couch; the place she knew Buffy had been sleeping, if she got any sleep, just an hour before, "What are you doing up? Are you starting training early, today?"

"No," she answered, simply, before standing, "So, what happened? Last night?"

"Oh, uh," she shrugged, "just another magic issue."

Kennedy huffed, "You know that's not what I'm asking."

"Well…that's all I'm saying."

--TO BE CONTINUED—

Alrighty, that was it. I actually was thinking of making it way longer than this, but I want to break the chapter apart. Trust me…it'll work out better that way. I hope, despite the lack of action, that you all enjoyed the update. I apologize for the typos I know I missed, I am very…very tired. Next time—Buffy and Faith are forced to spend a few days together, and depend on each other; Shannon begins teaching Willow the ways of her kind's magic; and Dawn questions Kennedy. Uh, gosh…hoping to get that up soon, but if I don't get it done this week, it might be a while. I won't have the internet for all of next week…sigh. Wish me luck!! Thanks for reading, and please review.-*ThomThom*


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